UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
last updated 3 June 2013
 
Women's advocates may use the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)[1] to promote the rights of girls to be free from violence.  The Committee on the Rights of the Child is the UN body that monitors State party compliance with obligations under the Convention. It consists of 18 independent experts elected by State parties.  In addition to monitoring State party implementation of the CRC, the Committee monitors the implementation of two optional protocols: Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict[2] and Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.[3] In 2011, the UN General Assembly approved a third optional protocol, which will allow children to submit individual complaints of State party violation of the CRC, The optional protocol on the Communications Procedure was opened for signature in 2012, but as of June 2013, did not yet have the requisite ten signatures for entry into force.   
 
States that have ratified the CRC are required to submit an initial report documenting compliance with the provisions of the treaty within two years of acceding to the Convention and thereafter to submit a periodic report every five years.  The Committee currently convenes three times a year (January, May, and September)  to review State party reports and engage in constructive dialogue with State party representatives. Prior to the session at which the State report is examined, a working group develops a list of issues of principal concern. The list of issues is submitted to the State party for response and is the priority for discussion at the session. Following the session, the Committee, in closed meetings, adopts concluding observations, which include suggestions and recommendations for the State party. While the concluding observations may have persuasive value, they are not legally binding. The Universal Human Rights Index Database provides country-specific human rights information, including concluding observations by topic.
 
Since its creation, the Committee has strongly encouraged non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to become involved in the monitoring process by submitting “shadow” or alternative country reports to provide the Committee with a comprehensive view of State implementation of the CRC and issues of primary concern. NGOs are encouraged to submit reports in advance of the pre-session working group meetings to inform development of the list of issues. Although the working group meetings are closed to the public, NGOs may be invited to participate based on the information they have provided to the Committee.  The Committee provides guidelines to partners on participation in pre-sessional working groups and the procedure for submitting NGO reports, including when reports should be submitted, the number of copies required, and when NGOs may be invited to present remarks to the Committee.
 
For the purposes of advocacy, NGOs can bring international attention to issues of violence against women through the monitoring of government obligations under any treaty that protects women's human rights.  Because the Convention on the Rights of the Child applies to girls under the age of 18 and explicitly defines the right to be free from violence to include physical and sexual abuse or trafficking, NGOs can use shadow reports as a way to focus attention on failures to protect young women and girls from a broad array of abuses.  NGO reports  to the CRC can be accessed from the website of the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) under NGO Alternative Reports as well as from the Committee’s website under “Sessions.”
 

[1] Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 44/25, 20 Nov. 1989, entered into force 2 Sept. 1990.
[2] Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution A/Res/54/263, 25 May 2000, entered into force 12 Feb. 2002.
[3] Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolutions A/Res/54/263, 25 May 2000, entered into force 18 Jan. 2002.