The UN, on Monday and Tuesday, reviewed the second periodic report of China on how China is implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

As one of the 192 states parties to the Convention, China is obliged to present periodic reports to the Committee on its efforts to comply with the provisions of the treaty. China's first periodic report was presented in 1995.

During the two-day review, the Chinese delegation was on hand throughout the day to present the reports and to answer questions raised by experts of the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

In opening remarks to the Committee, Sha Zukang, permanent representative of China to the UN Office at Geneva, said it had been the consistent policy of the Chinese government to give priority to children and to guarantee their rights to life, development, protection and participation in society.

In recent years, the medical care and health conditions for China's children had markedly improved, priority was given to basic education and to narrowing the gap among different regions, and between rural and urban areas, and the government put emphasis on the protection of the rights and interests of children from special groups, said Sha.

Although China has made remarkable progress in all aspects of the protection of children's rights and interests, Sha said it was undeniable that China, a developing country which was constrained by social and economic development and other factors, was still faced with multiple, formidable difficulties and challenges in the protection of children.

Committee experts raised questions related to adoption, birth registration, child pornography, trafficking in children, the family-planning policy, and so on.

In preliminary concluding remarks, Committee Expert Lothar Friedrich Krappman said abundant information had been received, China's report was rich in information, the written replies substantial, and the two-day explanations had been very enlightening.

The Committee will release its final, written concluding observations and recommendations on the report of China towards the end of its three-week session which will conclude on September 30.

(Xinhua News Agency September 21, 2005)