We are stronger when we work together. We all have different skills, knowledge and time commitments, and we will be more effective if we harness these collectively.
By connecting with a wide variety of activists, from NGOs, journalists, academics, lawyers, and UN and government officials, we gain more expertise and perspectives to enhance our advocacy work. We also strive to share this collective wealth with our networks.
Access our dedicated resources for different types of activists.
National NGOs
We support national organisations to undertake children’s rights advocacy - they know the local context, language and culture so are more often than not the best people to do it. In particular, we run legal advocacy workshops that are country/region specific.
International coalitions
At CRIN, we don’t try to replicate what others do. Instead we join them if we can of help. Below is a list of international coalitions that we work with.
International NGO Council on Violence against Children
CRIN is a member of the International NGO Council on Violence Against Children, which was set up to support strong and effective follow-up to the 2006 UN Study on Violence Against Children. The NGO Council plays a central role in identifying key priorities and follow-up activities in collaboration with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) on Violence against Children; in ensuring civil society participation in such activities; in monitoring the implementation of the study’s recommendations by member States; and in making effective use of information channels and networks, such as CRIN, to keep the children’s rights community informed of all the above.
Child Rights Connect
Together with Child Rights Connect (formerly the NGO Group for the CRC and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child) we provide coverage of the work of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, report on the sessions of the Committee, and make alternative reports and Concluding Observations in English available on this site. CRIN also posts submissions for the Committee’s Annual Day of General Discussion and reports on the discussions of the day and its outcomes.
CRIN and Child Rights Connect work together to encourage NGOs and others to lobby their governments to propose new members to the Committee on the Rights of the Child. CRIN interviewed candidates for the recent elections. Read our interviews with new members elected to the Committee on the Rights of the Child.
CRIN also participates in several working groups of Child Rights Connect, in particular the Working Group (WG) for the Human Rights Council, recently renamed the Working Group on Mainstreaming Children’s Rights. The aim of this WG is to develop and coordinate an overall strategy on mainstreaming children's rights - as in getting the UN to consider children’s rights and take them seriously across all bodies, and not just leaving it to the Committee on the Rights of the Child.
Ombudspersons
CRIN continues to work with existing children's ombudspersons around the world. We have worked in partnership with the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children (ENOC) over many years, providing web hosting services, information and encouraging its members to participate in international children's rights advocacy.
As part of our transparency campaign, CRIN continues to monitor restrictions or threats to children's ombudspersons across regions. We support those campaigning for the development and establishment of ombudspersons in countries where there are none, or where their mandates are not in line with the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child or the Paris Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions.
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe (CoE) is one of the leading regional bodies working in defence of children’s rights. CRIN supports the institution's activities, including by advertising CoE events and campaign materials on our website, such as the 1 in 5 campaign to promote legal, educational and other measures needed to combat all forms of sexual violence against children.
Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice
CRIN is a member of the United Nations Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice (IPJJ), a coordination panel on technical advice and assistance in juvenile justice, composed of 13 United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations actively involved in juvenile justice. It was established following the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Resolution 1997/30.
The Panel functions as a platform for the exchange of information and expertise at national, regional and international level. IPJJ members are present in over 180 countries. They reach better coordination and efficiency by collaborating and carrying out joint actions in the areas of advocacy, policy development, capacity-building, legal reform, research and publications, monitoring, data-collection and evaluation.
Collaborating with legal professionals
A number of law firms have played an important role in CRIN's campaign activities by contributing research based on their experience of legal practice within the countries in which they operate. Latham & Watkins LLP, White & Case LLP and Steptoe & Johnson LLP all conducted research on the practice and prevalence of inhuman sentencing in the countries involved in our inhuman sentencing campaign, as well as contributing to our global review of the life imprisonment of children.
As part of the ongoing Convention on the Rights of the Child - CRC in Court database, law firms and pro-bono lawyers continue to research cases in which the Convention on the Rights of the Child has been cited, and produce summaries for inclusion in the database. Allen and Overy; Reed Smith LLP; Shearman & Sterling LLP; Dewey LeBoeuf LLP; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; and White & Case LLP all contribute to this database, as do legally trained interns, who largely applied to work with CRIN through BPP Law School.