APA MEDIA ADVISORY

November 19, 2008
Contact: Audrey Hamilton
Public Affairs Office
(202) 336-5706

AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION CO-HOSTS CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING, URGES LEGISLATORS TO CONSIDER UNITED NATIONS TREATY SECURING CHILDREN'S RIGHTS

WHAT: Child advocates from the American Psychological Association (APA), the Child Welfare League of America and American Academy of Pediatrics will brief Congress on the Campaign for U.S. Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). APA's U.N. representative will talk about the CRC's relevance to children's health issues in the United States.

WHO: Harold Cook, PhD, U.N. representative, APA, and chair, Executive Committee of the U.N. non-governmental organization Committee on the Family

WHERE: 416 Dirksen Senate Office Building

WHEN: Thursday, Nov. 20, 11:00 a.m., 19th anniversary of the CRC's adoption by the U.N. General Assembly

BACKGROUND: Adopted unanimously by the U.N. General Assembly in 1989 and instituted as international law in 1990, the CRC is widely recognized as the first legally binding international agreement that incorporates the full range of civil, cultural, economic, political and social human rights into a single document. It was drafted with the specific purpose of promoting and protecting the well-being of all children, regardless of national boundaries.

To date, 193 countries have ratified the convention. The United States and Somalia remain the only two members of the U.N. that have not ratified this agreement. According to the Campaign for the U.S. Ratification of the CRC, it would establish a useful framework from which leaders could create cost-effective and comprehensive policies and programs that address the specific needs of children and their families.

The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC, is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA's membership includes more than 148,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting health, education and human welfare.