The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is a body of experts that monitor and report on the implementation of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Convention on the Rights of the Child The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC) is an international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children. The Con ...

. The Committee also monitors the Convention's three optional protocols: the

Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OPAC), also known as the child soldier treaty, is a multilateral treaty whereby states agree to: 1) prohibit the conscription ...

, the

Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography The Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography is a protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and requires parties to prohibit the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. ...

and the

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedure The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedure is a treaty open to states that are party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Protocol was adopted by the United Nations' General Assem ...

History and organization

The CRC is one of the ten UN human rights treaty-based bodies. The Committee was created by the Convention on 27 February 1991. The Committee is made up of 18 members from different countries and

legal system The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law, common law, statutory law, religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country is shaped by its unique history an ...

s who are of 'high moral standing' and experts in the field of

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

. Although members are nominated and elected by States party to the Convention, Committee members act in a personal capacity. They do not represent their countries' governments or any other organization to which they might belong. Members are elected for a four-year term and can be re-elected if nominated. The 196 states that have ratified the Convention ("States party to the Convention") (which includes all

UN member states The United Nations member states are the sovereign states that are members of the United Nations (UN) and have equal representation in the UN General Assembly. The UN is the world's largest intergovernmental organization. The criteria ...

except the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, South Sudan ratified on 23 January 2015,

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

's domestic ratification finished in January 2015 and the instrument was deposited with the United Nations in October 2015.) are required to submit initial and periodic reports on the national situation of children's rights to the Committee for examination. The Committee examines each report and raises concerns or makes recommendations to the State party. It also issues occasional general comments on the interpretation of particular Convention obligations. Once a year, the Committee submits a report to the Third Committee of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

, which also hears a statement from the CRC Chair, and the Assembly adopts a Resolution on the Rights of the Child.Child Rights Information Network (2008).
''Convention on the Rights of the Child''
. Retrieved 26 November 2008. Individual complaints may be considered only under certain conditions by the Committee, as is the case with other committees established by international human rights treaties. The case of

Gendhun Choekyi Nyima Gedhun Choekyi Nyima (born 25 April 1989) is the Dalai Lama appointed 11th Panchen Lama belonging to the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism. The Central Government of China rejected such appointment. The 14th Dalai Lama recognized and announc ...

, 11th Panchen Lama, was considered by the Committee on 28 May 1996, as well as at other later dates.Gedhun Choekyi Nyima: the XIth Panchen Lama of Tibet
website of TCHRD In November 2014, for the first time, the Committee joined with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women to release a comprehensive interpretation of the obligations of States to prevent and eliminate harmful practices done to women and girls.

Members

The current members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child are listed on the Web site of the Office of the UN Commissioner for Human Rights. Information on former CRC members is linked from the same Web page. The current President of the Committee is Luis Pedernera, a children's rights expert from Uruguay. As of 2022, the Committee Chair is international human rights lawyer Mikiko Otani.

Periodic Report on the Holy See

In February 2014 the Committee, after interviewing two top officials of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, published observations described as "a scathing indictment of the Vatican’s handling of child sexual abuse cases involving clerics, releasing a report that included criticism of church teachings on homosexuality, gender equality and abortion". The

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

released a critical statement and said that it did not appreciate being asked to change its position on issues it considered immutable. Archbishop

Silvano Tomasi Silvano Maria Tomasi C.S. (born 12 October 1940) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as the Special Delegate to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta since 1 November 2020. He was the Permanent Observer of the Holy See ...

, the Holy See's permanent observer at the UN, said that he suspected pro-gay-rights NGOs had influenced the committee and "reinforced an ideological line" in the UN. Advocates for the survivors of clerical sex abuse welcomed the committee's findings.

Days of General Discussion

Each year, the Committee on the Rights of the Child holds an international Day of General Discussion, bringing together experts and civil society members to discuss important children’s rights issues with the Committee. In 2021, the Day of General Discussion focuses on alternatives to institutional care for children. In particular, it aims to, “Create meaningful engagement for children and young people who have experience of the child protection system and/or of living in alternative care of any type so they can voice their opinions on what constitutes quality care and advocate for legislative and systemic changes.”

References

External links

Committee on the Rights of the Child
at

OHCHR The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nat ...