US embassy cable - 05YEREVAN692

UNCLAS YEREVAN 000692 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR GTIP, DRL AND EUR/CACEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, SOCI, PREL, PGOV, AM, KTIP 
SUBJECT: ARMENIA RATIFIES INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS ON 
CHILDREN'S RIGHTS 
 
1.  Armenia has ratified three international 
instruments on the protection and promotion of 
children's rights this year.  On February 28 the 
National Assembly ratified the Optional Protocol to the 
Convention of the Rights of the Child on Sale of 
Children, Child Prostitution and Pornography.  On March 
21 the National Assembly ratified the Optional Protocol 
to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the 
involvement of children in armed conflict and the 
following day (March 22) ratified the International 
Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 182 on the Worst 
Forms of Child Labor.  Armenian President Kocharian 
signed these documents on March 19 and April 13, 
thereby finalizing the ratification process.  The GOAM 
now has twelve months in order to review its 
legislation and bring it into correspondence with these 
documents. 
 
2.  There has been considerable coverage in the press 
and from international organizations regarding the 
ratification of these documents.  UNICEF praised the 
GOAM's efforts to protect children's right during a 
press conference earlier this month.  Sheldon Yett, the 
UNICEF representative in Armenia, expressed his opinion 
that the ratification of these international 
instruments was a key step in ensuring a "protective 
environment" for Armenia's children.  UNICEF has also 
commented that the new Armenian Labor Code, adopted in 
November 2004, is already generally consistent with the 
ILO Convention 182 and other international instruments 
regulating child labor.  Post has continuously raised 
the importance of these conventions in fighting 
trafficking and protecting the children's rights at 
meetings with GOAM officials. 
EVANS