Source: United Nations – Geneva
The Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon held its sixteenth informal meeting with States. Committee Experts discussed the Committee’s draft general comment on realising children’s rights through access to justice and effective remedies, its communication and simplified reporting procedures, and its work on artificial intelligence and on children in armed conflict, among other topics.
Ann Marie Skelton, Committee Chair, opening the meeting, said since the last meeting with States, the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child was marked in 2024 by many commemorations across the world, highlighting the global dedication to children’s rights. The Committee had not considered it to be a good moment to celebrate children’s rights, which were under much pressure from around the world, including due to gang violence and conflict. However, the Convention demonstrated a common commitment to upholding and advancing the rights of children. States that were in situations of armed conflict still came to the Committee for the dialogues, including during the last year, where difficult but constructive conversations had been held.
Also providing opening statements were Committee Experts Hynd Ayoubi Idrissi, Benoit Van Keirsbilck, Sopio Kiladze and Mikiko Otani.
Finland, Mexico, South Africa, Chile, Ukraine, Luxembourg and Pakistan participated in the discussion.
Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found here, while webcasts of the public meetings can be found here. The programme of work of the Committee’s ninety-eighth session and other documents related to the session can be found here.
The Committee will next meet in public on Friday, 31 January, at 5 p.m. to adopt its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Slovakia, Eritrea, Honduras, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Peru, the Gambia and Ecuador, which were reviewed during the session, and publicly close the ninety-eighth session.
Opening Statements by Committee Experts
ANN MARIE SKELTON, Committee Chair, said since the last meeting with States, the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child was marked in 2024 by many commemorations across the world, highlighting the global dedication to children’s rights. The Committee had not considered it to be a good moment to celebrate children’s rights, which were under much pressure from around the world, including due to gang violence and conflict. However, the Convention demonstrated a common commitment to upholding and advancing the rights of children. States that were in situations of armed conflict still came to the Committee for the dialogues, including during the last year, where difficult but constructive conversations had been held.
Since the last meeting with States, the status of ratification of and accession to the Convention had not changed; the Convention had been ratified or acceded to by all States except the United States. There had only been one new ratification of one of the Committee’s Optional Protocols during the last year, with Kazakhstan ratifying the Optional Protocol on the communications procedure. Since the last meeting, the Committee had not received any new initial reports under the two substantive Optional Protocols; 36 initial reports were still overdue under the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, and 46 were overdue under the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
The Committee had reviewed 23 States party reports since the last meeting with States. The cancellation of the pre-sessional working group due to the liquidity crisis had slowed down the backlog of reports, which would be 62 at the end of the session.
In August 2024, the Committee signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child to further strengthen the cooperation between the two Committees. In June 2024, a joint statement was issued with that Committee on the situation of children in armed conflict, with a particular focus on education. The Committee also took concrete steps to strengthen its cooperation with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children in Armed Conflict and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, by signing cooperation agreements with their two offices.
Ms. Skelton said the Committee was frustrated at the late announcement and cancellation of the pre-session due to the liquidity crisis. It meant that some States that had been scheduled were unable to attend. Treaty body strengthening had reached a key moment with the adoption of the treaty body resolution in December 2024. The Committee would continue to discuss the possibility of adopting a predictable calendar during 2025. The discontinuance of meetings in hybrid or online format had a negative impact on the participation of civil society organizations, national human rights institutions, and United Nations agencies in the Committee’s work, preventing the Committee from engaging with children around the world. The support of States to ensure the continuation of the meetings would be appreciated.
HYND AYOUBI IDRISSI, Committee Expert, speaking on inquiries relating to the Optional Protocol on communications, said the Committee would continue with a normal follow-up as described in the Optional Protocol. There had been two investigations, one with a country visit and one which was duly completed, with the report currently being adopted. The Committee had completed two requests to undertake investigations but would not initiate investigations on the requests received.
BENOIT VAN KEIRSBILCK, Committee Expert, said currently 52 States had ratified the Optional Protocol on individual communications, but the rate and level of ratification remained low, and this should be improved. The Committee encouraged States to ratify the Optional Protocol and to provide legal avenues for children to address violations of child rights. Around 259 cases had been registered and 163 decisions had been adopted. When views were adopted, in the majority of cases, the Committee found a violation of children’s rights, but there were numerous cases where a positive solution had been found for the child. The Committee’s jurisprudence showed how the Convention had contributed to children’s rights, with the climate change case being a notable example.
The Optional Protocol on individual communications had supported more than 100 children to access education, and prevented children from returning to countries where they would suffer serious human rights violations. Challenges were continuing to affect the Optional Protocol, most notably the lack of resources affecting the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Committee would welcome support from States in this regard, particularly by supporting positions of junior professional officers to support the work of the petition section. The Office’s lack of capacity had had an increase on the backlog, which was becoming increasingly worrying.
The Committee was currently working on a general observation, focusing on the rights of the child to have access to the justice system and effective legal recourse. Broad consultations had been conducted in 2024, and more than 300 contributions had been received from across the globe. More than 100 consultations had been held, including many with children, which had led to the implementation of a report. A first draft had been compiled and subjected to discussions within the Committee, and the Committee had launched a new round of consultations on the text, which would then be adopted in a plenary system.
SOPIO KILADZE, Committee Expert, said the explosion of artificial intelligence had created a wide range of opportunities for children, but it also created significant challenges to children’s rights, including safety. Last year the Committee had decided to focus its work on children and artificial intelligence to allow the Committee to support State parties on positive dynamics in artificial intelligence, in line with child rights. For this reason, since last year, the topic of artificial intelligence was addressed during the dialogues with each State party, in different contexts. The Committee had established excellent cooperation with key partners in the artificial intelligence space and had held a closed event in September 2024 for sharing information on child online protection. As a follow-up, a Working Group on artificial intelligence and child rights was recently created. The Committee was also working on a joint statement on artificial intelligence and child rights, which would be the first of its kind. State parties’ contribution to this statement was crucial.
MIKIKO OTANI, Committee Expert, said the Committee’s biennial report to the General Assembly included a thematic section on children’s rights and armed conflict, which reflected that the reporting period had been marked by a serious violation of children’s rights in conflict settings. Close to half a billion children lived in conflict zones around the world, which was double the number from 1990. During the reporting period, the Committee reviewed reports by several States parties in conflict or post-conflict and made several detailed recommendations concerning children in armed conflict in its concluding observations.
Last year, the Committee participated in the Geneva policy workshop on children in armed conflict. The Committee also decided to take a more holistic response to children in armed conflict during dialogues with States parties, which allowed the Committee to address broader issues of children in armed conflict. As of now, 37 States parties to the Optional Protocol on children in armed conflict had overdue initial reports. The Committee had decided to use the simplified reporting procedure to encourage the submission of overdue reports by States parties.
Ms. Skelton said five Committee members would soon be leaving the Committee, including Mikiko Otani, Luis Ernesto Pedernera Reyna, Velina Todorova, Zara Ratou and herself.
Statements and Questions by States Parties
In the ensuing discussion, speakers representing States parties said they appreciated the opportunity to engage with the Committee and reiterated their support to the Convention and the treaty bodies. It was regretful that there were no more ratifications on the Optional Protocol on a communications procedure. The Committee’s support to implementing the Convention was highly appreciated, and the efforts of the Committee in contributing to the enhancement of children’s rights was commended. One speaker particularly commended the Committee’s commitment to protecting children in the online environment.
The situation of children in armed conflict was extremely worrying, and the Committee’s efforts to strengthen the protection of these children were welcomed. Speakers wished every success to those Committee members who were ending their mandate. Some speakers noted that hybrid meetings were an important tool for the participation of civil society, children and those from least developed countries.
Questions asked in the discussion included: whether the Committee was currently applying the position adopted on mid-term follow up and if so, how did it work in practice? Was the Committee engaging with civil society on this procedure? Had the Committee sought ideas to pool resources from other regional bodies affected by the liquidity crisis? How could the Committee be involved in monitoring violations committed against Ukrainian children? Would it be possible to hold a general discussion on the further ratification by States of the Optional Protocol on children in armed conflict? The Committee’s insights on how to strengthen the rights of children in Gaza were welcomed.
Responses by Committee Experts
ANN MARIE SKELTON, Committee Chair, said in the agreement signed with the African Committee of Experts, the Committees could consider doing joint follow-up visits in Africa. Both groups were interested in each other’s jurisprudences under each communication procedures and would like the opportunity to learn from each other in this regard. The Committee remained open to any suggestions from Ukraine and said days of engagement could be a possibility. The Committee had been following discussions about the proposal for an open-ended working group dealing with education and did intend to engage in this process.
HYND AYOUBI IDRISSI, Committee Expert, said the Committee hoped to see progress in the implementation of recommendations made on individual communications. The Committee would issue an A, B or C status on cases, depending on whether recommendations had been met. The issue of the presentation of mid-year reports had not yet arisen.
MIKIKO OTANI, Committee Expert, said the Committee had realised that more cooperation and synergy had needed to be created among the Geneva mechanisms. The issue of children and armed conflict was being raised more frequently in the Universal Periodic Review, which gave Member States the opportunity to strengthen the Committee’s recommendation.
BENOIT VAN KEIRSBILCK, Committee Expert, said the Committee’s decisions on individual communications took place at two levels. The requests often involved a demand to overhaul and change processes to ensure greater access to justice. The Committee wanted children to have recourse at a national level, which could help them satisfy their requests and needs. In a particular context, the Committee had continued to work with the Council of Europe, providing support to Ukrainian child refugees. The Committee needed to ensure close contact with the Ukrainian authorities, which was how the Committee could ensure the rights of the child could be upheld during the regretful conflict.
ANN MARIE SKELTON, Committee Chair, said the Committee was hopeful that the current ceasefire would lead to a lasting peace so that children’s shattered lives could begin again.
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CRC.25.09E
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