The mechanism, to be established by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, will comprise representatives from all relevant sectors of society. It will underline the country’s commitment to supporting the development of children throughout the country, as well as the protection of their rights, in order to enable them to grow and become vital agents of development in the country.
Thailand on 25 September 2012 signed and deposited an
instrument of ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child on a communications procedure. The signing came after the
Cabinet on 18 September 2012 had approved Thailand’s becoming a Party to the
Optional Protocol as proposed by the Ministry of Social Development and Human
Security. With the signing of the instrument, Thailand is the first country to
become Party to the Optional Protocol.
The Optional Protocol is a supplementary agreement to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Thailand has been a Party since
1992. It offers an opportunity for children all over the world or their
representatives to submit communications to the Committee on the Rights of the
Child on the violation of any of the rights set forth in the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, as well as the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the
sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and the Optional
Protocol to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflict,
both of which Thailand became a Party to in 2006.
If it is found that a violation has occurred, the
Committee will transmit recommendations to the concerned State Party to remedy
the situation. Thailand was one of the countries advocating for the drafting of
the Optional Protocol to the Convention on a communications procedure since its
inception.
As National Children’s Day 2013 approaches, many public
and private organizations are preparing various activities for children.
Thailand’s National Children’s Day is scheduled for the second Saturday of
January each year. National Children’s Day 2013 falls on 12 January. Prime
Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has presented her motto for Children’s Day 2013 as
“Be Disciplined, Enhance Knowledge, and Bring Thailand toward ASEAN.”
The National Children's Day celebration was held for the
first time in Thailand on the first Monday of October 1955, and later, it was
changed to the second Saturday of January. The organizing of Children’s Day is
aimed at raising public awareness of the importance of children and youth, in
line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Public Relations Department (PRD) and the Bank for
Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives will jointly hold activities to
celebrate National Children’s Day 2013, at Radio Thailand and the National
Broadcasting Services of Thailand (NBT) on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in Bangkok,
from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
(thailand.prd.go.th)