NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child

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A young girl in Haiti.

COMPLAINTS MECHANISM

General introduction

The NGO Group has joined a group of national, regional and international organizations in launching a campaign to establish a new Optional Protocol (OP) to the CRC, which would create a complaints mechanism. The CRC is the only international human rights treaty with a mandatory reporting procedure that does not also have a communications procedure. Although existing

international complaints mechanisms can be used by children, they do not cover the full range of rights for children and the complaints are not examined by a body with special expertise in child rights. Such a mechanism would enable individuals and groups to take up rights violations directly

with the Committee, when existing domestic solutions have proved ineffective. It would complement the State party reporting system and would also enable the Committee to establish urgent inquiries when it is informed of grave or systematic violations of rights.

NGO Group Working group on the OP


In 2008, members of the NGO Group set up a new working group (NGO Group WG) to raise awareness and mobilise support for a communications procedure. They met with the Committee on the Rights of the Child to present the campaign, and in June 2008 the Committee adopted a formal position in support of the procedure. Since then, the working group has closely worked with the Committee and friendly States to launch the process of drafting the new OP at the UN level.


Mobilizing support at the UN Human Rights Council


For the new OP to the CRC to be discussed and drafted, a resolution establishing an intergovernmental working group has to be adopted by the UN Human Rights Council (HRC). To that end, the NGO Group WG has undertaken several actions at the HRC to mobilize the necessary support from States:

  • it hosted a side event and submitted a written statement emphasising the national and regional support of NGOs for the campaign at the HRC's 7th session (March 2008);

  • it organised another side event at the HRC's 8th session (June 2008);

  • it arranged meetings with ‘friendly states’ in May and October 2008 to mobilise interest and support;

  • it carried out intensive lobbying and advocacy activities during the 10th and 11th sessions of the HRC (March and June 2009) to assess the positions of States with regard to this new OP and create a cross-regional group of friends that could present the needed resolution.

In addition, it also launched an international petition in support of the OP. To date, over 550 NGOs, human rights institutions and other bodies have signed the petition.

Thanks to our efforts at the HRC and to the advocacy and lobbying actions undertaken by our partners at national levels, a resolution was adopted by the HRC on 17 June 2009 establishing a UN Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) on an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child to provide a communications.

Next steps


In November 2009, the UN OEWG will meet for the first time. This first session will be dedicated to “explore the possibility of elaborating” such an optional protocol. The NGO Group Working Group will continue to actively mobilize support about this issue amongst States and coordinate actions amongst national and international NGOs to ensure that this first session reaches a successful outcome and that the UN OEWG decides to continue its work and start drafting the OP at its next session.


Key documents


  • Resolution of the UN HRC A/HRC/11/L.1 establishing the OEWG on an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child to provide a communications (see the compilation of the resolutions adopted by the HRC at its 11th session at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/11session/L-11.doc

  • Advocacy paper (English, French & Spanish)

  • OP Draft (English, French & Spanish)


For the latest updates on the campaign, please see the CRIN website at: http://www.crin.org/petitions/petition.asp?petID=1007


Contact details of the Working Group

For more information on the Working Group for a Communications Procedure for the CRC or if you need any advice in advocacy arguments, please contact Anita Goh, Advocacy Officer in Geneva on consultant@childrightsnet.org or by calling +41 774460083