I feel it to be such a profound privilege and distinct honor to be addressing, for the second time, this august International Conference of the Presidents of High Jurisdictions during its 8th Session here in LUCKNOW, on behalf of the BENIN HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE.

On behalf of my Delegation and of my modest person as well, I would like to extend my unlimited appreciation and gratefulness to the Honorable Principal of City Montessori School and to the entire family of City Montessori School for inviting and allowing us to be, once again, part of the prominent Guests of this year's celebration here in LUCKNOW

The Delegation of the High Court of Justice of Benin would like also to express its thanks to the City Montessori School, for the job it has been relentlessly doing is so great: You have been providing the children of this famous School with tools and human aptitudes they need to overcome difficulties they are confronted with in life and also to defend with some success their own rights as well as the rights of all the children worldwide. It is my suggestion that through its unremitting and enlightening educational work, the City Montessori School has empowered numberless children to become capable to defend and protect the rights of all the children of the world: those who were already born and those yet to be born.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is the pertinence, appropriateness and the nobleness of the job this School has been doing that induced the Benin High Court of Justice to welcome your invitation and send its Delegation all the way to LUCKNOW, to lend you its full support and share with you some innovative ideas likely to help promote a safer haven for and better preserve Children's rights all over the world.

But before taking on these ideas, may I remind you, as we pointed out last year at the 7th International Conference, that the Benin High Court of Justice is a special jurisdiction whose competency is to judge the Head of State and the Ministers for any offences they may have committed in the process of delivering their duties or on occasion thereof.

In addition, the Benin High Court of Justice is also competent to judge those same High Authorities for serious and characterized violations of fundamental human rights and also for acts endangering a sound, satisfactory, sustainable and favorable development environment.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

When speaking of fundamental human rights, we focus at once on this human category that is very dear to all of us. This category represents our Children who were already born and those who are yet to be. As a matter of fact, they are the ones who do ensure and will guarantee the perpetuation of humanity throughout generations and ages.
Yet, it sounds paradoxical that despite their centrality and role in perpetuating human species and life on earth, they do not get all the attention and protection they deserve from their Fathers, Mothers and Elders that we stand for.

In fact, during the 7th International Conference of the Presidents of High Jurisdictions, that was organized last year in this same City, we all came to the conclusion that States and the International Community have established an impressive number of national and international Accords and mechanisms designed to protect and safeguard Children's rights.

Nevertheless, my Dear Children, your fundamental rights are still being violated all over the world and unacceptable atrocities of all kinds are endlessly being perpetrated against you, even though you remain fragile and all the more dear and indispensable human beings on earth.

This regrettable situation is unfortunately due to the fact that, the existing judicial tools do not carry sanctions against States that violate your Rights.

This unacceptable situation is also the direct outcome of the inexistence, to date, of a body that will elicit and pronounce sanctions and enforce them against the defaulting States.

Therefore, the theme of this 8th International Conference of the Presidents of High Courts appears to have come up at the right moment!

Because this year's theme invites us to think over and devise appropriate mechanisms that will on one hand, fill in the gaps regarding the existing judicial instruments while revamping them and, on the other, enhance equally the powers of the International Court of Justice, with a view to promoting and guaranteeing effective safety and respect of the Rights of two billions of Children worldwide.

But, how can we truly achieve this dual reinforcement objective on judicial and jurisdictional grounds?

Shall we take on the classic and traditional approach, which is well known to the High-Level Legal Patricians and Jurists that we are? This method is to make the inventory of the existing judicial texts and conventions and endow them with sanctions adequate enough to repress their eventual violations.

In so far as the International Court of Justice is concerned, how best can it promote and protect Children's rights worldwide?

Since this International Court of Justice has already got its precise domain of competencies and a well-established procedure, the question now arises as to how to empower it to take on, among other attributions, issues pertaining to the guarantee and protection of the Children's rights throughout the world.

In order to come up with a definitive satisfactory response as regards the question of the effectiveness Children's rights, what kind of procedural approach shall we follow at the International Court of Justice?

The recent events of Abeche, at Chad-Sudan borders, involving 103 African children and the NGO l'Arche de ZOE, are a tragic reminder that, millions of children all over the world are still fully vulnerable and likely to be exposed to all kinds of very serious hazards; that is my reading of this unfortunate happening, beyond any opinions one may hold on the issue itself and no matter what the diplomatic, judiciary and political outcome might be.

Among others, those perils include horrors of war and issues relating to the protection of Children and women by times of emergency and armed conflicts, malnutrition, famine, child sexual exploitation, child trafficking, child prostitution and child pornography, children working at night, forced or compulsory children work, the required minimum age to work, etc.

All these risks and many more others, which children are confronted with everyday, keep on being perpetuated, in spite of the great number of existing International Conventions on Children's rights, such as the International Convention on Children's rights of 1989 with its two optional protocols. Up to today, this Convention has not yet been ratified by two countries, one of which is a very old respected democracy. We also have the Conventions C5, C6, C7, C10, C29, C33 and others that cover respectively the minimum age to be allowed to work in industries, the minimum age for maritime work, the minimum age for agriculture work, the minimum age to work as drivers or assistants, forced or compulsory children work, the minimum age for non industrial work, etc.

Taking to one's heart the various situations and bearing in mind our responsibilities as High-Level Judiciary Authorities, I would suggest that it is high time that we take immediately some measures and make some strong recommendations.

Thus, leaning on the United Nations systems mechanisms, we could:

1- Insist to the effect that all the situations as inventoried throughout the International Conventions on Children's rights be all considered as serious situations of insecurity that menace the peace and future of humankind.

2- Work out ways to get the UN General Assembly or its Security Council to pass a Resolution that states clearly that any violation or situation likely to violate Children's rights as enacted in the International Conventions constitute situations of International insecurity that threaten seriously the peace and future of humankind and thus be considered as violations of international order of States.

3- Work within the UN system so that the said Resolution consecrates or institutionalizes the International Court of Justice as "The International Defender of Children Worldwide"-taking inspiration from the French experience relating to the institution of "Defender of Children" through Law N° 2000-196 of March 6, 2000.

4- Work and do advocacy so as to get the World Tribunal to be put to task to conceive without delay, simple and appropriate Conventions which propose measures and sanctions to be enforced against countries that violate the rights of Children. The Tribunal may require the assistance or support of the International Committee of specialized High Level Jurists working with Children issues.

5- Do everything it takes in order to have the new measures and sanctions endorsed by the UN by way of a Resolution.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In my opinion, the ultimate effectiveness of those projected reforms will depend on the new dispositions being simple so as to be implemented with efficiency. It remains however true that the struggle to combat widespread violations of the Children's rights will require the High Jurisdictions, the Organizations of Civil Society and other Non-Governmental Organizations to decide and set in motion effective pressure mechanisms to get the States to toe the lines.

Thus, in search of maximum effective protection of the rights of Children, it is advisable to open up the possibility to petition the International Court of Justice to:

- the States;

- UNICEF;

- NGOs and Associations involved in advocating and protecting Children's rights;

- Minor Children, no matter their countries of origin or residence; and their legal representatives as well.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Honorable Participants

Those are some of the ideas that ma Delegation is pleased to share with you as part of the contribution of the Benin High Court of Justice to the settlement of different recurring situations relating to the rights of Children throughout the world.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

There could be no better cause than the cause of the Children worldwide. It is so great to defend and protect their rights. And whenever in the world there is a good cause that is at once a just cause, the ideas that are sparked off here and there to grow them are always the good ones.

The Delegation of the High Court of Benin shares a strong conviction that with the wealth of contributions of each of the Eminent Participants to this noble Gathering and the support of all of us, our deliberations will more readily become realities for the happiness and future hope of all of our Children.

Thank You so much.