Delegation from the Dominion of Canada

Position Paper for the General Assembly

The rights of the children during armed conflicts is often undermined and violated. Most children end
up becoming victims of violence or be part of the child soldiers recruited by armed groups. Children are
being displaced with their families as the conflict continues to escalate hence, Canada supports the
intervention to prevent children from being recruited in armed groups and uphold their rights to have a safe
and peaceful life. Next, the issue of unequal access of women towards education is an issue that does not
stand alone for it corresponds to other side issues that surrounds gender disparity. Side issues such as
gender-based violence, social norms that promotes gender ideologies, and unequal employment and
economic opportunities. Therefore, Canada continues to offer national and international services to promote
and further the heights of women’s rights like access to education. Education is a fundamental right of a
person, may it be a girl or a boy, young or old, and that Canada fully supports and is ready to defend such
rights inside and outside the country.

I. Examining Child Rights in Conflict Areas

Armed conflicts would result to numerous consequences such as the welfare of the civilians especially
the children leading to an estimated 250 million children living in countries and areas affected by these
conflicts. Most children caught between armed conflicts, if not rescued, becomes refugees or part of the
armed groups which would undermine the child’s rights such as to have a good life, right to education and
to be able to make a choice for themselves. An example would be the children of the Rohingya crisis
wherein the children who became victims of ethnic cleansing, does not have access to clean water, food,
and are deemed stateless. The United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child which
provides the comprehensive view of what children are entitled to, the roles and responsibilities of the actors
involved, and principles that will guide all actions for the children. The Convention is the avenue to create
and develop policies services, programs, administrative procedures and other actions and decisions that will
lead to the betterment of the conditions of the children.
With the overflowing cases of children being affected by armed conflicts, the parliament of Canada
took the initiative to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991 and created the Optional
Protocol on the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflicts.
In this optional protocol, it bans the compulsory recruitment and direct participation in hostilities of any
person under the age of 18. The Vancouver Principles are set of pledges by member states for the prevention
of child recruitment and use of child soldiers in the context of UN peacekeeping operations. States in the
Vancouver Principles are committed to prioritize the prevention of child recruitment during the planning
of peacekeeping operations, implementing special measures for the detention of children and including
child protection in peace agreements. As Canada continues to suppress the involvement of children in armed
conflicts, the state continues to support international efforts to put an end to the issue and provide better
opportunities to the children in conflict areas.
To further these efforts, Canada is endorsing the Safe Schools Declaration, wherein it protects the
students, teachers, and the schools during armed conflicts. Canada and the other 57 countries endorsed this
declaration as it allows children to grow and thrive in safe and peaceful schools. The declaration will also
mandate the Canadian Armed Forces in times of armed conflict. Canada had sponsored various resolutions,
such as resolutions 1882, 1998, 2225 in 2009, 2011, and 2015, to identify the violations towards the rights
of the children and how to address the issue, hence, Canada will still offer such assistance towards children
in armed conflicts.
 II. Eliminating gender disparity and unequal access for women in education
The United Nations is conscious with the inequalities that women experience from all around the world
especially towards their lack of access to education. Women and girls are still denied access to education
by some societies because of gender ideologies and social norms that dictate a woman’s role in the society
as a wife and mother only. Aside from that, girls and women are victims of gender-based violence such as
physical, verbal, and sexual abuses. For instance, the story of Malala Yousafzai, the youngest Nobel Peace
Prize winner, embodies how other societies in the world treat their women. Malala grew up in Swat Valley
where her father was a teacher and runs an all-girl school but when the Talibans took over, the school was
shut down since education for girls means nothing in their society. When Malala started to speak up about
her rights and the rights of the other girls to education she became a target of the Talibans and shot her
while she was going to home from school. Due to the lack of access to education, the victims are quite with
the abuses and are not aware of their rights such as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The Committee on
the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) monitors the implementation of the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women among nations which is the
UN’s response to the inequality towards women.
Canada is a purveyor of women’s rights in both the national and international scene. Committed to
address the issue, Canada submits a report to the United Nations every four years as complied by CEDAW
regarding their actions to further the rights of women. Canada offers international services for women for
instance, peace and security for women in conflict-related areas, sexual and reproductive health and rights,
women’s voice and leadership programs to support local women’s organization in developing countries,
elimination of violence against women, to ending child, early and forced marriages, gender equality and
women empowerment, and improving the health and rights of children and women. Canada also enacted
the Canadian Human Rights Act of 1977 wherein all rights covers both men and women equally. This
includes diminishing the discrimination against women to basic needs such as education and employment.
The Employment Equity Act that aims to achieve equality in the workplace and in the employment
opportunities. Lastly, the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act which affirms that women should
receive equal pay for work of equal value in the public sector of Canada. This shows the commitment of
the parliament to further the rights and welfare of women in Canada and around the globe.
Furthermore, the efforts of the parliament of Canada on furthering women’s rights aligns with the fourth
and the fifth Sustainable Development Goals as set by the UN General Assembly of 2015. These goals are
Quality Education and Gender Equality that would promote an inclusive and equitable education and the
empowerment of women. To further promote the accessibility of education, Canada advances the rights
and the protection of women and girls globally through their involvement in international organizations
such as the United Nations. Being one of the first countries to sign and ratify the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Canada is committed to extend the protection
towards the rights of women and girls especially in eradicating the barriers towards education which
includes poverty, the social stigma that women does not need education, child marriages and early
pregnancy, violence, and the long distance of traveling to school. Canada was able to uphold the rights of
the Canadian women through these efforts, thus, they can further it globally.