Opening Remarks of Legal Adviser Harold Hongju Koh the United Nations’ Committee on the Rights of the Child Concerning the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child

Geneva, Switzerland

Thank you, Madame Ambassador.

I am Harold Hongju Koh, Legal Adviser of the U.S. Department of State. On behalf of the United States and outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, it is my honor and privilege to address the Committee on the Rights of the Child and to have this chance to present the first human rights periodic treaty reports of the Obama Administration.

As Ambassador King stated, the United States strives for a “more perfect union” to help promote a “more perfect world.” The United States is very proud of its human rights record but at the same time recognizes that we have more to do. I served as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor when the United States participated in negotiations of the Optional Protocols over twelve years ago and was pleased to see the US ratify them in 2002. As our detailed reports and presentation testify, the United States takes its human rights obligations, commitments, and dialogue with this Committee extremely seriously.

We have found the process of review and reflection with respect to the Optional Protocols very helpful as we consider how to redouble our efforts to protect children in the United States. We appreciate this opportunity for dialogue with your Committee to hear your views on how we are implementing our treaty obligations, as well as related policy recommendations for strengthening our protection of children.

The United States government has also valued the opportunity for an ongoing and robust dialogue with members of U.S. civil society. Before I became Legal Adviser four years ago, I worked as a human rights lawyer. I expect soon to return to civil society to continue that work. Our country believes that bringing civil society members into government positions helps to enrich the dynamic and dialogue between government and civil society.

For the United States, our obligations under these Optional Protocols are not just paper commitments. Both President Obama and Secretary Clinton have repeatedly stated their unequivocal dedication to the protection of innocent children in every setting. Secretary Clinton in particular has worked on these issues her entire career, which started with her work as a young lawyer at the Children’s Defense Fund in the United States. The President and Secretary are represented here by the senior-level expert U.S. national delegation that appears before you today. Appearing with me are representatives of the four federal agencies that are most actively involved in implementing the U.S. laws and programs that give life and effect to our obligations under the Optional Protocols. Many other U.S. government agencies also actively participated in drafting our reports and responding to the Committee’s questions. Because the protection of children must be pursued at the state and local level, we are honored for the first time to bring to a U.S. Government human rights treaty presentation not one, but two Attorneys General from our fifty States to discuss their states’ efforts to combat child exploitation.

The United States is a government of laws and not individuals. So we take pride that our numerous protections for children are not just personal commitments, but ones enshrined in U.S. laws and policies. In the United States, an extensive network of Constitutional, federal, state, and local laws create a framework to protect children from the types of exploitation the Optional Protocols are designed to stop. Federal, state, and local programs and policies work together to create a nurturing environment where children can grow and develop.

The broad and comprehensive legal framework within the United States to implement the Optional Protocols described in the U.S. Initial Reports, presented five years ago, remains in place. These Second Periodic reports update our Initial Reports on major relevant developments, including new laws, judicial decisions, policies, and programs that expand protections in various areas.

Let me address “the elephant in the room:” that we have signed but are not yet party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In my personal capacity, I have been on the record for two decades as saying that I deeply regret our remaining outside this important treaty and that I hope my country will soon correct this omission. As we have noted in response to relevant UPR recommendations, this Administration supports the treaty’s goals and intends to review how we can finally move it towards ratification.

At the same time, this Committee should not confuse our non-ratification with any lack of commitment to protecting children. While we have not yet ratified the CRC, few other countries have adopted as many laws, policies, and programs designed to protect the rights of the child. During the negotiation of the Optional Protocols in the late 1990s, some colleagues here in Geneva asked whether the United States should be able to ratify these Optional Protocols without having already ratified the Convention itself. We answered that some nations take an attitude of “ratification before compliance” with regard to international treaties. But the United States tends toward “compliance before ratification.” By ratifying these specialized protocols first and engaging with this Committee with respect to these important issues over time, we have greatly increased our country’s familiarity with this treaty and Committee and have brought closer the day when the United States could ratify the Convention itself.

Throughout today, you will hear from members of our team confirming our dedicated efforts related to both Protocols. This morning, my colleague, Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, Director of the Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, will address U.S. efforts related to the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography. Our approach to combating trafficking focuses on three P’s, prosecution, protection, and prevention: punishing perpetrators, protecting victims, and preventing patterns of trafficking. There is a fourth P: partnership with state and local government and Indian tribes as well as civil society.

This afternoon, we will describe three themes that drive our work regarding the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict. First, the United States does not send children to fight. We are proud to have an all-volunteer force in the United States—no one of any age can be forcibly recruited into the U.S. Armed Forces—and no individual under the age of 18 can take a direct part in hostilities. Moreover, we respect our obligation not to recruit, in any event, those under the age of 17. We go to great lengths to ensure compliance with all of our obligations under the Protocol, and we exceed its requirements in many respects. Second, we are great supporters of the Protocols and this process of treaty review. We became party to these Protocols in 2002 with bipartisan support, and we have actively sought to participate in this process in a frequent and timely manner. Third, in our efforts abroad, we again take a three-part approach: prevention, mitigation, and rehabilitation. Around the world, the United States seeks to prevent and mitigate the harms resulting from the involvement of children in armed conflict and to support rehabilitation programs.

Let no one doubt: the United States abhors the unlawful use of children in armed conflict and supports the prosecution of ruthless war criminals, like Joseph Kony, who engage in such grotesque practices. Such brutal practices steal from children their youth and show them horrific violence that no child should experience. All too often, children who have been so tragically abused become adults who replicate these abuses without mercy.

We deeply appreciate the efforts this Committee has made to advance the international community’s response in combating the exploitation of children, through trafficking and in armed conflict. On behalf of my country and my delegation, I look forward to our discussions with you.

And with that, let me give the microphone to Ambassador CdeBaca.