Committee on the Rights of the Child

Description

The Committee on the Rights of the Child is a United Nations human rights treaty body made up of 18 independent experts. It monitors how states implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its optional protocols on children in armed conflict and on the sale of children. The committee was established in 1991.

States parties submit regular reports on how they protect children’s rights, and the Committee reviews them, raising concerns and making recommendations. It considers individual complaints under an optional protocol on communications, and can open an inquiry into grave or systematic violations. It issues general comments explaining how the Convention applies to issues such as children’s rights in the digital environment and climate change. It also holds an annual day of discussion bringing together experts and civil society to examine a chosen children’s rights topic.

Nearly every UN member state has ratified the Convention, making it the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history. The Committee is serviced by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, based in Geneva. It works with partner organizations such as UNICEF and Child Rights Connect to advance children’s rights worldwide.