OP3 CRC: Background to the campaign

A group of agencies initiated the campaign for the United Nations to establish a communications/complaints mechanism to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 2007.  This procedure was to provide a mechanism that would ensure the availability of legal remedies for children at the international level.

A complaints or communications procedure allows individuals, groups or their representatives who claim that their rights have been violated by a State that is a party to a convention or covenant to bring a complaint before the relevant committee, provided that the State has recognised the competence of the committee to receive such complaints.

Why such a mechanism?

The Convention on the Rights of the Child was the only international human rights treaty with a mandatory reporting procedure which did not have, in addition, an existing or draft communications procedure. This was a serious matter of discrimination against children. See existing complaints mechanisms.

While children and their representatives can use the mechanisms established under other international instruments to pursue many of their rights, those instruments do not cover, separately or together, the full range and detail of rights in the CRC.

Furthermore, communications or complaints made on behalf of children to the other bodies will not be considered by a Committee with special expertise on children’s rights. Similar persuasive arguments were made for the adoption of the communications’ mechanisms under CEDAW and under the new Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Timeline of the campaign and drafting process

Further reading