- Full text of Convention on the Rights of the Child: EN, CH
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was adopted in 1989 by the UN General Assembly and entered into force one year later. The most widely ratified human rights treaty, the CRC was created in response to the grave injustices that children suffer as well as their often special needs, and defines the rights that belong to all children. The Convention further sets out four guiding principles that are intended to assist state parties in interpreting the obligations established in the document. These principles are:
- Non-discrimination
- The primacy of a child’s best interests in all decisions affecting children
- The right of every child to life, survival, and development
- The importance of seeking and respecting the views of the child
In addition, the CRC establishes the Committee on the Rights of the Child (the Committee), a group of 18 independent experts on children’s rights who meet three times a year in Geneva. The Committee provides guidance for and also monitors each state party’s compliance with the CRC by drafting general comments on the scope of treaty obligations, issuing statements on issues related to children’s rights, and conducting reviews of state parties’ progress in implementing the treaty. In accordance with the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedure, the Committee may also accept individual complaints and communications alleging a state party’s violation of rights under the Convention. However, since China is not a party to the Optional Protocol, the Committee may not accept individual complaints related to China at this time.
To comply with the review process, each state party must submit for review a report to the Committee every five years on steps taken to implement the Convention, but, in practice, reports are often combined and reviewed less frequently. To prepare for a state party’s review, the Committee convenes a pre-sessional working group, in which all Committee members are invited to participate. The pre-sessional working group meets three to four months prior to the review to consider the state party’s report and develop a “list of issues and questions,” which gives the state party an indication of the Committee’s priority issues and also requests additional information prior to the review. After considering all relevant materials, two members of the Committee designated as “Country Rapporteurs” lead the interactive dialogue with representatives of the state party. Following the dialogue, the Committee adopts concluding observations which include final remarks and recommendations.
Civil society members may provide input to the Committee at various points by submitting reports, making oral statements, and participating in briefings for Committee members. The Committee also encourages state parties to consult and incorporate information from civil society members in their national reports and follow-up procedures, and requires that the concluding observations are widely disseminated following the review. In addition the Committee considers information from civil society and other stakeholders, such as UN agencies and national human rights institutes.