The convention on the rights of the child pdf

The data sets could then facilitate research on a variety of child rights and public policy issues. With this vision in mind, in , with the generous support of the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and with an international team of researchers, child rights advocates, and child development experts, a 5-year plan started to develop the GlobalChild platform. This was necessary to help inform the nature and range of indicators necessary to ensure full implementation.

This publication comprises the compilation of the work of Phase 1 of the GlobalChild initiative to identify the core attributes of the Convention rights. It articulates the human rights-based attributes of each article and interprets the legal international standards of the right through the lens of these characteristics, thus ensuring that no aspect of the right is overlooked.

An attribute is a key dimension of a human right. Accordingly, the aim was to identify those attributes for each article. They needed to be mutually exclusive but comprehensive, and together provide a well- articulated and complete analysis of the focus and scope of that right. In some cases, where they are relevant, regional instruments are included. The level of detail provided in these lists varies in accordance with the implications for the subject article.

For example, in Articles 26 and 30, a greater degree of explanatory information on the relevant instruments is provided. The articles have been placed in nine thematic clusters, broadly aligned with those established by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in its reporting guidelines to States Parties. Where the publication differs from the clustering of the Committee guidelines, this is done to simplify understanding of each section of the book.

For example, we have placed Article 1 together with Articles 4, 42 and We also separated out rights relating to exploitation from those linked with protection of children in vulnerable settings. It is important to note this book is not intended as a thorough analytical com- mentary of the rights in the Convention. A high-level review of the attribute papers for each set of attributes was under- taken by global experts4 on the theme of the cluster.

Following the consequent revisions, the attributes were reviewed by the Reference Group, consisting of internationally renowned experts,5 at a face-to-face meeting in Geneva. Finally, to further ensure the quality and pertinence of the attributes to the living reality of children, an international child consultative review component was under- taken through the Global Child Rights Dialog GCRD.

Child-friendly versions of the papers for each article were prepared. Almost two thousand children between the ages of 11 and 17 years participated from 52 sites in 35 coun- tries, including Argentina, Canada, Greece, India, Japan, Russia, and Sierra Leone. Ben-Arieh, A. Taxonomy for child well-being indicators: A framework for the analysis of the well-being of children. Childhood, 18 4 , — An index of child well-being in the European Union.

Social Indicators Research, 80 1 , — General comment no. United Nations. Piloting early childhood rights indicators in British Columbia: Protection against violence. Global Child. Vaghri, Z. Child protection in British Columbia: Moving toward primary prevention. Journal of Canadian Public Administration, 64 3. Piloting the indicators of general comment GC7 : Implementing child rights in early childhood.

From the indicators of general comment no. The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material.

If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. Part I General Principles. For example, in consideration of Article 28, the right to education, legislative and policy measures, backed up by appropriate training and support of teachers, must be introduced to guarantee that no child is discrimi- nated against in their right to access education, within the school environment itself, or within the educational system as a whole.

The educational system, including teaching methods, curriculum, school design and timetable, and behaviour policies, must be developed to promote explicitly the best interests and optimum development of every child. Finally, children of all ages must be afforded the opportunity to be heard in relation to their education, in the way their schools are run, and in relation to the development of education legislation, policy, and budgeting.

A rights-based approach needs to be founded on a transparent, participatory, inclusive, and accountable process. Together, the four General Principles contribute to such a process. They clarify not only the desired outcomes from the implemen- tation of each right in the Convention, but also the approach that must be adopted in their realisation.

Chapter 2 Article 2: The Right to Non-discrimination. What Did Children Say? To make us overcome stereotypes. To be closer to each other and become better friends. Meetings should be organised with students from different counties. We should learn about cultures of other countries and learn to live together and not to be racist.

Non-discrimination, and its positive corollary, equality, are cross-cutting human rights invoked in all international human rights instruments United Nations OHCHR, , p. While equality means the absence of discrimination, uphold- ing the principle of non-discrimination between groups will produce equality Bayefsky, , p.

Non-discrimination is both a substantive and a procedural right that must be applied in the realisation of all other rights Abramson, , p. It includes two additional grounds for protection from discrimination, namely ethnic origin and disability. It also potentially strengthens the jurisdictional accountability of States Parties by removing the provision contained in the ICCPR that individuals must be living within the territory and subject to the state jurisdiction and requires only that they are within the jurisdiction of the state.

Accordingly, the protection it affords extends to migrant, undocumented, refugee and asylum-seeking children living within the jurisdiction of the state. In addition, in paragraph 2, this protection is reinforced by a new provision in international human rights law, whereby States Parties must take all appropriate measures to protect the child from all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the actions, beliefs, or status of the parents, family members, or other guardians.

Article 3 The principle of non-discrimination underpins the determination of the best interests of the child. States Parties must undertake appropriate proactive measures to guarantee effective equal opportunities for all children to ensure their best interests are addressed and realised UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, , para.

Article 6 Discrimination impedes the optimum development of the child, whether it takes the form of denial of services, on the basis of equality of opportunity, prejudice, or social exclusion, or physical and psychological abuse.

Compliance with Article 2 is therefore integral to the meaningful implementation of Article 6. Article 12 The views of the child, wherever appropriate, must be sought in any consideration of discrimination.

In addition, when a child experiences discrimination on any grounds, they must be provided with the opportunity to register a complaint and be provided with safe and accessible means of seeking redress. The principle of non-discrimination originates in the United Nations Charter, which in Article 1 3 provides an equality guarantee, and establishes the foundation for all subsequent human rights treaty development: To achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.

Non-discrimination is therefore integral to all human rights treaties. It does so in two ways. In this regard, it is closely linked with Article 4. Where Article 2 constitutes an obligation of result, Article 4 elaborates the measures necessary to achieve that result Pais, In other words, States Parties must secure rights for all children under their authority and responsibility living within any territory over which the state has power Abramson, , pp.

In this regard, the Committee has stressed the imperative, in federal states, of ensuring equal protection for all children b, para. The concept of discrimination comprises three key dimensions Abramson, , p.

The scope of such legislation must address governmental and private or non-governmental actors, given that violations are often perpetrated by private action or private individuals Weiwei, , p. Existing legislation must also be reviewed to ensure it does not include provisions that discriminate UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, a, paras.

It has argued that both early childhood and adolescence can be a source of discrimination , para. For example, young children are particularly at risk of being denied their right to express their views and have them given due weight UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, , para. Paragraph 2 introduces an obligation on States Parties to take all appropriate measures to ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, actions, or beliefs of parents, guardians, or family members.

In other words, it establishes an obligation of conduct rather than result, as is the case with paragraph 1. However, interestingly, it also differs from paragraph 1 in that its scope is not limited to discrimination in respect of the rights in the Convention. The text comprises two distinct elements. For example, affording differential legal status to a child born to unmarried rather than married parents would constitute a violation of Article 2 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, b, para.

For example, one sibling should not be excluded from school because of the behaviour of another sibling. Implementation of para- graph 2 requires that States Parties take measures to ensure that any existing.

It emphasises the importance of collecting disaggregated data to identify children experiencing discrimination a, para. Abramson, B. Brill Nijhoff. Alston, P. The legal framework of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Bulletin of Human Rights, 91 2 , 1— Bayefsky, A. The principle of equality or non-discrimination in international law. Human Rights Law Journal, 11 1 , 1— Besson, S. Article 2: The right to non-discrimination.

Tobin Ed. Oxford University Press. Legislative history of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention on the Rights of the Child.

General comment No. UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. UN Human Rights Committee. CCPR general comment no. Equality and non-discrimination under international human rights law. The Norwegian Centre for Human Rights. In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.

States Parties undertake to ensure the child such protection and care as is necessary for his or her well-being, taking into account the rights and duties of his or her parents, legal guardians, or other individuals legally respon- sible for him or her, and, to this end, shall take all appropriate legislative and administrative measures.

States Parties shall ensure that the institutions, services and facilities responsible for the care or protection of children shall conform with the standards established by competent authorities, particularly in the areas of safety, health, in the number and suitability of their staff, as well as competent supervision. In it, the was replaced with a in qualifying the primary consideration. It has been argued that Article 3 underpins all the other provisions of the Convention UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, , para.

Article 3 2 pertains to the well-being of the child in all circumstances while respecting the rights and duties of parents. These passive and active measures need to be undertaken in compliance with Article 3 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, , para. Article 12 There is an inextricable link between Article 3 1 and Article Article 3, paragraph 1, cannot be correctly applied if the requirements of Article 12 are not met UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, , paras.

Article 3 is a General Principle. Its application needs to be considered in relation to the implementation of all the other Convention rights. UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities , Article 7 2 , requires that in all actions concerning children with disabilities, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.

General Comment no. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the assessment of the best interests of the child or of a group of children must comprise both short and long-term considerations for the child involved , para. This demands a continuous process of child rights impact assessment to foresee the impact that any proposed law, policy, or budgetary allocation may have on children, and child rights impact evaluation, to evaluate the actual impact of implementation UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, , para.

It is a complex and adaptable concept, which needs to be determined on a case-by-case basis. A Primary Consideration States Parties need to incorporate a full and formal process of assessing and determining the best interests of the child in all cases in which a decision will have a major impact on a child or children. In these cases, a greater level of protection and detailed procedures to consider their best interests is appropriate UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, , para.

For the Committee, the balancing of the contrasting interests can be operated only on a case-by-case basis evaluation. In the search for suitable compromise, authorities and decision-makers must weigh the rights of all those concerned, bearing in mind that the best interests of the child have high priority and are not just one of several considerations Freeman, , pp.

Therefore, this article imposes on States Parties the responsibility of last resort to ensure the well-being of all those most vulnerable children that are neglected by its provisions Freeman, , pp.

The appropriate legislative and administrative measures to be undertaken must comply with Article 3 1 and Article 4 of the Convention. Article 3 3 requires the establishment of appropriate standards for institutions, services, and facilities responsible for the care or protection of children.

This is in line with the increasing range of alternative care services that States Parties are requested to set up to ensure childcare and protection Free- man, , pp. Article 3 3 equally applies to state institutions and non-state institutions. Freeman, M. Hodgkin, R. Implementation handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the Child 3rd ed.

States Parties recognise that every child has the inherent right to life. States Parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child. For example, government should set up more schools so that we children have opportunities to continue their school- work. It extends beyond a negative obligation of non-interference, imposing a proactive obligation to take all comprehensive legislative, administrative, and other positive measures to ensure the inherent and indivisible right to life and survival of the child Nowak, , pp.

Consistent with Article 37, Article 6 must be interpreted as imposing a prohibition on the death penalty UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, , paras.

In addition, in line with Article 1, which avoids taking a position on the commencement of life, Article 6 does not adopt a view with regard to whether life begins at the point of conception or a live birth.

Paragraph 2 of Article 6 introduces the obligation on States Parties to ensure the survival and development of the child to the maximum extent possible. It imposes an obligation on States Parties to introduce all appropriate measures, both positive and negative, to promote the survival and development of the child. Its implementation is integrally linked to the Convention in its entirety, and in particular the principle of the best interests of the child in Article 3, as well as the rights to health and an adequate standard of living and education in Articles 24, 27,.

Article 2 Measures such as access to information, services, and supports that promote life and development must be undertaken to prevent discrimination of children, including those with disabilities and survivors of gender-based violence.

Article 12 The views of children must be listened to and given due weight in all matters that affect their life, survival, and development.

As a General Principle, Article 3 needs to be considered in relation to the imple- mentation of all the other Convention rights. Article 32 offers protections from economic exploitation and hazardous work. Article 34 protects from sexual exploitation and abuse, including inducement and coercion to engage in unlawful activity, exploitation through prostitution and other unlawful practices as well as exploitative use in pornographic materials and production.

Article 37 a prohibits torture and cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment and punishment. Securing the right to life is therefore conceived as right to personal liberty and security.

This includes the prohibition of capital punishment of children. It is not enough to not apply the death penalty, but rather legislation must be explicit in the prohibition of its use. The risk to life is considerable for the child in these circumstances.

These children are also at potential risk of torture, disappearance, extrajudicial killings and social cleansing UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, a, paras.

This would include equal access to systems of health and care available to other members of society. Children with disabilities, particularly infants, are highlighted as being vulnerable to exclusion or discrimination as a result of impoverished systems of care and limited access to health.

States Parties are urged to outlaw harmful practices that impinge on the right to life of children with disabilities. States Parties are also required to raise public awareness, enact legislation, and review and revise laws that directly or indirectly violate the right to life, survival, and development of children with disabilities UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, , para.

The Committee has argued that the right to life requires more than refraining from imposition of the death penalty, and places positive obligations to prohibit children from receiving life sentences. The right to life means more than simply being alive—the quality of life is as relevant as its preservation UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, a, para. Measures to protect children from violence are fundamental to the preservation of the right to life.

The obligations to ensure the survival of the child are elaborated in multiple articles in the Convention, including Nowak, , pp. Articles 19, 32— Doek, J. Stellenbosch Law Review, 26 2 , — Peleg, N. Article 6: The rights to life, survival and development. UN Commission on Human Rights.

OpenElement World Summit for Children. World declaration on survival, protection and development of children. States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.

For this purpose, the child shall in particular be provided the opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child, either directly, or through a representative or an appropriate body, in a manner consistent with the procedural rules of national law. The same should happen with local authorities and all public agencies. Professionals should be trained to understand children also through their drawings.

Article 12 introduces a fundamentally new right into international human rights law. In other words, it transforms the status of the child from one of passive recipient of adult care and protection to one of active participation and agency. It has been commonly conceptualised as participation and represents one of the fundamental values of the Convention, while posing one of its major challenges to prevailing attitudes towards children Pais, , p.

Opportunities for accountability and redress have been further strengthened through the adoption of the third protocol to the Convention on a complaints procedure. This requires that the views of the child are solicited and that they are given due weight UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, , para. The Committee has interpreted Article 12 as a substantive and a procedural right. Accordingly, it is both a free-standing right of the child and integral to the realisation of all rights a, para.

Thus, to ensure implementation of the Convention, States Parties must ensure that children are enabled to express their views and that these views inform the actions undertaken by the state to give effect to child rights. Article 12, while closely aligned to Article 13, freedom of expression, is restricted to matters affecting the child, albeit this has been interpreted widely by the Com- mittee. However, it goes further in imposing an obligation on States Parties to introduce the legal framework and mechanisms necessary to facilitate opportunities to express views, both individually and collectively, and thereby support the active involvement of the child in all actions affecting them, and to give due weight to those views once expressed.

Article 12 also needs to be understood alongside the other civil rights in the Convention, including Article 15, the right to freedom of association and assembly and Article 17, the right to information. Article 2 Article 12 asserts that every child capable of forming a view has the right to express that view. It is up to our generation to demand that leaders from government, business and communities fulfil their commitments and take action for child rights now, once and for all.

They must commit to making sure every child, has every right. Follow Viz, Leepa and their pet Zooko on their treasure hunt for child rights! Read the child-friendly version of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Explore more resources for parents and teacher on child rights. In something incredible happened. They made a promise to every child to protect and fulfil their rights, by adopting an international legal framework — the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Contained in this treaty is a profound idea: that children are not just objects who belong to their parents and for whom decisions are made, or adults in training.

Rather, they are human beings and individuals with their own rights. What is included The Convention sets out the rights of children, aged zero to 18 years, and the responsibilities of governments to ensure those rights. Each of the articles in the Convention is www. Rights are what you should have or be able to do to survive, thrive and meet your full potential.

All rights are equally important and are connected to each other. You are born with these rights, and no one can take them away. It has been signed by countries. The convention 1 I. Introduction 1. Proponents of the collective complaints procedure have brought up many potential advan- tages.

See Egan, ibid. Smith, supra n. According to Geary, supra n. Nevertheless, it is important in itself that the third Optional Protocol complements the ladder of national and regional accountability mechanisms relating to the CRC by introducing global quasi-judicial intervention and inquiry options.

Even if used only modestly, the Protocol will allow the CRC Committee to start developing its own quasi-jurisprudence. Action taken to implement the CRC, combined with action in pursuit of relevant Millennium Development Goals hereafter MDGs , is likely to have contributed to some of the impressive improvements that are on record at present as regards the conditions of children worldwide. Secondly, in the least developed countries primary school enrolment increased from 53 per cent in to 81 per cent in To put the above findings on the achievements of the CRC regime into perspective, a selection of four key such challenges will be briefly presented in the next section.

Egan, supra n. An obvious generic example of a root cause, or at least a frequent context of, many child rights violations is poverty. While the Index is not specifically geared towards generating information on poverty, more than one quarter of the Concluding Observations nevertheless refer to poverty in sections addressing general issues of non-discrimination, budget and availability of data. Interestingly, the CRC Committee has also raised issues con- cerning poverty in developed countries.

See also Arts, supra n. For 50 countries out of , i. The Committee referred to the context of widespread poverty, children and families living in extreme poverty, children affected by pov- erty and child poverty.

For more information on the KidsRights Index, see supra n. In 9 countries out of 50 18 per cent. In 2 such cases poverty was found to be a ground for discrimination, in 4 such cases the budget available for poverty reduction was found to be too low, and in 3 such cases data on the state of poverty in the country involved were found to be lacking. Issues concerning the mobiliza- tion of resources will be further discussed in section 3.

Putting an end to certain child rights violations clearly requires mentality changes and tackling, sometimes deep-rooted and sensitive, cultural elements.

Where judges do take account of the UNCRC, for example in family law, the approach is still paternalistic: children have interests which need protection. Research on tackling violence against children has explicitly confirmed all of these findings. Bolsa Familia provides cash payments to parents, in return for guaranteeing that their children will go to school and be vaccinated. Khadkha, supra n. This private sphere has hardly been within the reach of international human rights treaty law.

While we lack precise information, there are abundant indications that abuse, neglect and maltreatment of children — including physical, psycho- logical and sexual violence — in the private sphere is widespread. One should also keep in mind that probably they reveal just the tip of the iceberg as serious under-reporting is suspected to exist in this realm.

Nevertheless, they indicate convincingly that domestic violence is a rampant problem. As is the case for most international human rights law, the CRC explicitly regulates mainly the public sphere. Pinheiro, supra n. Alston, ed. Arts NILR cifically identified other private actors such as mass media companies. These are ground- breaking provisions for both the theoretical and practical development of international human rights law, as they oblige states, in specified cases, to intervene in the private realm and extend, to some extent, human rights-related obligations to non-state actors such as parents or other carers of children.

If this were successful, by analogy with the words written by Rhona Emphasis added. While Arts. This is an enormous obstacle for making situation analyses and, for example, for design- ing policies to tackle the disadvantaged situation of marginalized groups. The issue of the lack of data and the need for strategic but feasible data gathering, processing and management goes back to the early days of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and has not been resolved since.

No less than almost one third of the States Parties to the CRC scored low on this item, almost two thirds received a middle score and only one percent i. Quality evaluation requires long-term follow-up of monitoring and evaluation indicators that have been built into programmes from inception. This is not pos- sible if programmes are sporadically and only partially funded. These request states at p.

For an explanation of the scores and other information about the KidsRights Index, see supra nn. The exact percentages are 35 per cent, 65 per cent and 1 per cent. For 3 per cent no score was available which means that the issue was not addressed in the latest available CRC Con- cluding Observations.

The two top scorers were Libya in and the United Arab Emirates in As these data are relatively old, in the meantime this situation may well have changed.

Arts NILR 3. While not all implementation requires a high level of resources, and to a certain extent this is a matter of prioritization and political will, it is clear that many duty bearers of the Convention are confronted with resource constraints.

Again, this is underlined by the picture emerging from the KidsRights Index. An early example is a Dutch Policy memorandum on children in developing countries, adopted in , but unfortunately for already quite a long time not practised or updated anymore. For 8 per cent of the States Parties no ranking was available on this item which means that it was not addressed in the latest available CRC Concluding Observations on these states.

The single top scorer was the Netherlands in In the meantime resourcing patterns in the Netherlands may well have changed. The CRC obligations on mobilizing the best available budget were already discussed in section 2. As referred to respectively in CRC Art. The monitoring work done by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child can also only be done well if the Committee itself is properly resourced.

Like the data challenge, this aspect too has been problematic since the early days of the Convention. This almost torpedoed the meeting but in the end a compromise was found in reducing the meeting to three days. This creates the risk of long delays between the submission of state reports and considering them, which then may result in outdated outcomes.

In response to this challenge, in and again as of , the CRC Committee decided to work in two parallel chambers. For example, simply differences in the personalities of Committee members that staff the two chambers may lead to major differences in atmosphere and in the nature of the dialogue between the Commit- tee and the government monitored i. In terms of substantive norms, this has been achieved mainly through the adoption of the first two Optional Protocols, of General Com- ments and Concluding Observations and other resources produced by the CRC Committee.

In terms of procedural norms, this occurred especially through the development of the state reporting procedures and through the third Optional Protocol.

The Convention clearly has long passed the age of majority by now. Strong achievements of the CRC regime encompass its comprehensiveness, the extent to which its provisions accommodate diversity and have triggered law reform, and the work and standing of the CRC Committee. However, for the CRC regime to have yet more impact in the future, it is important that the challenges presented above, including practicalities concerning data and resources, but also Lee, supra n.