Maria Rita Parsi elected to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

"This is another important recognition of Italy's committment to the protection of children's rights that we welcome with great satisfaction." This was the comment of the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giulio Terzi Sant’Agata, in occasion of the election of Maria Rita Parsi, Italian psychologist and psychotherapist, to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the body of independent experts that monitors the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) by its State parties.

Italy is an important and one of the most active supporters of the initiatives taken by the United Nations to protect the rights of children, in particular those involved in armed conflicts. The CRC, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1989 and to which Italy is party since 1991, recognises specific civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights for children and sets out specific principles and standards for their treatment.

In accordance with article 43 of the CRC, the Committee is composed of eighteen experts of high moral standing and recognized competence in the field of childhood and adolescence. The Committee members, elected by the States Parties, serve in their personal capacity, consideration being given to the principle of equitable geographical distribution, as well as to the principal legal systems.