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legal or other appropriate assistance and, unless it is
considered not to be in the best interest of the child, in
particular, taking into account his or her age or situation,
his or her parents or legal guardians;
iv) Not to be compelled to give testimony or to confess
guilt; to examine or have examined adverse witnesses and to
obtain the participation and examination of witnesses on his
or her behalf under conditions of equality;
v) If considered to have infringed the penal law, to have
this decision and any measures imposed in consequence thereof
reviewed by a higher competent, independent and impartial
authority or judicial body according to law;
vi) To have the free assistance of an interpreter if the
child cannot understand or speak the language used;
vii) To have his or her privacy fully respected at all
stages of the proceedings.
3. States Parties shall seek to promote the establishment of laws, procedures, authorities and institutions specifically applicable to children alleged as, accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law, and, in particular:
a) The establishment of a minimum age below which children shall be presumed not to have the capacity to infringe the penal law;
b) Whenever appropriate and desirable, measures for dealing with such children without resorting to judicial proceedings, providing that human rights and legal safeguards are fully respected.
4. A variety of dispositions, such as care, guidance and supervision orders; counselling; probation; foster care; education and vocational training programmes and other alternatives to institutional care shall be available to ensure that children are dealt with in a manner appropriate to their well-being and proportionate both to their circumstances and the offence.
Article 41
Nothing in the present Convention shall affect any provisions which are more conducive to the realization of the rights of the child and which may be contained in:
a) The law of the State Party, or
b) International law in force for that State.
Part II
Article 42
States Parties undertake to make the principles and provisions of the Convention widely known, by appropriate and active means, to adults and children alike.
Article 43
1. For the purpose of examining the progress made by States Parties in achieving the realization of the obligations undertaken in the present Convention, there shall be established a Committee on the Rights of the Child, which shall carry out the functions hereinafter provided.
2. The Committee shall consist of ten experts of high moral standing and recognized competence in the field covered by this Convention. The members of the Committee shall be elected by States Parties from among their nationals and shall serve in their personal capacity, consideration being given to equitable geographical distribution, as well as to the principal legal systems.
3. The members of the Committee shall be elected by secret ballot from a list of persons nominated by States Parties. Each State Party may nominate one person from among its own nationals.
4. The initial election to the Committee shall be held no later than six months after the date of the entry into force of the present Convention and thereafter every second year. At least four months before the date of each election, the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall address a letter to States Parties inviting them to submit their nominations within two months. The Secretary-General shall subsequently p
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