BUSINESS AND CHILD RIGHTS: Committee opens General Comment discussions

Summary: The Committee on the Rights of the Child (the Committee) and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) held an expert meeting on the issue of child rights in relation to the business sector at the Palais Wilson on 16 September 2011.

This meeting is part of the work programme that the Committee and supporting organisations, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Save the Children Sweden and the ICJ, will carry out with a view towards the Committee's elaboration of a General Comment on the rights of the child and the business sector.

Meeting Outcomes

The expert meeting:

(i) Identified the main issues relating to the impact of business activities on the realisation of child rights and States' implementation of the Convention; and,

(ii) Identified and analysed measures to be taken by States to respect, protect and fulfil the rights in the Convention in relation to business corporate activities and identify constraints as well as avenues for their effective action.

What next?

A paper based on discussions at the expert meeting will be produced to guide the determination of the scope of the planned General Comment of the Committee and frame its main issues. This is intended to constitute the first stage in the drafting process of the General Comment.

The 37 participants in the expert meeting included members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, representatives from UN agencies and funds, non-governmental organisations, trade unions and independent human rights experts.

Further Information

pdf: http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=26352

Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.