Submitted by CRIN on
[14 April 2014] -
United Nations child rights experts have hailed a new treaty that allows children to complain directly to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child about alleged violations of their rights.
The treaty, known as the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedure, has today (14 April) entered into force following its ratification by the required 10 countries: Albania, Bolivia, Gabon, Germany, Montenegro, Portugal, Spain, Thailand, Slovakia and Costa Rica.
“Today marks the beginning of a new era for children’s rights. Children are now further empowered as this Optional Protocol recognises their capacity to exercise and claim their own rights,” the four UN child rights experts** said.
“It is a sad reality that, 25 years after the adoption of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, children’s rights continue to be violated on a daily basis, including through violence, exploitation and abuse. We hope that this new treaty will give voice to children’s testimonies and help them to obtain the necessary remedy and reparation. We applaud those States which, by ratifying this Protocol, have confirmed their determination to improve children’s access to justice,” they added.
The new Protocol enables children and their representatives to submit complaints to the Committee on the Rights of the Child about specific violations of their rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as under its other two Optional Protocols (on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child pornography and child prostitution). But children can only complain if their government has ratified the Optional Protocol on a Communications Procedure, and if they have exhausted all legal avenues in their own country.
“The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most ratified human rights treaty. We hope that this new Optional Protocol will soon reach universal ratification. Ratification signifies that States take their obligations seriously and are ready for any scrutiny concerning individual allegations of child rights violations,” the experts said.
“In order to reach out to the most vulnerable and marginalised children, the Optional Protocol should be widely publicised and countries should inform the public and raise awareness amongst children of their right to complain and seek redress,” they added.
(**) The four UN child rights experts are:
- Kirsten Sandberg, Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child;
- Marta Santos Pais, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Violence against Children;
- Leila Zerrougui, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict; and
- Najat Maalla M’jid, UN Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
- To learn more about how to submit a complaint, visit: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/TBPetitions/Pages/IndividualCommunicati...
- To learn more about the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedure, visit: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRC/Pages/CRCIndex.aspx
- Child-friendly publication on the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Complaints Procedure:
Further information
- A leaflet on OP3 CRC has been developed by Ratify OP3 CRC that contains information and answers key questions on OP3 CRC. The leaflet is available in Arabic,English, French, Spanish and Russian
- A child-friendly version of the OP3 CRC leaflet has also been produced by Ratify OP3 CRC.
- The official text of OP3 CRC is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanishand Russian
- The Rules of Procedure for OP3 CRC, adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, provides detailed provisions on the concrete functioning of the complaint procedure, and can be found here
- Advocacy Toolkit in English, French and Spanish for campaigners to get their States to ratify.
- A letter for campaigners to send to their governments, urging them to sign/ratify. InEnglish, French and Spanish
- A guide to using this new complaints procedure by Child Rights International Network (CRIN), a children's rights advocacy NGO, is available free of charge. It also contains a comparison of similar complaints procedures under other human rights treaties.
- Child-friendly version of the Optional Protocol by the Special Representative of the Security-General (SRSG) on Violence against Children.
- 'Children Can Now Seek Justice Through The UN' (14 January 2014)
- CRINmail 1372 on the Complaints Mechanism
- Visit the International Coalition for the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedure