About CRIN

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Our vision

CRIN envisions a world in which every child enjoys all of the human rights promised by the United Nations, regional organisations, and national governments alike.

Mission

Guided by our passion for social and legal change, CRIN has built a global network for children's rights. We press for rights, not charity, and advocate for a genuine systemic shift in how governments and societies view children.

Our inspiration is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which we use to bring children's rights to the top of the international agenda. We launch advocacy campaigns, lead international children's rights coalitions, and strive to make existing human rights enforcement mechanisms accessible for all.

More than 2,100 organisations in 150 countries rely on CRIN's publications, research and information.

The values that guide our work

• We believe that the only means of bringing long-term positive change to children's lives is through the strong and explicit promotion of their rights. We are not afraid to challenge harmful traditional beliefs and practices concerning children. We recognise this will often be controversial.
• We believe that information is a powerful tool, indeed a prerequisite, for effective advocacy in children’s rights and that it must be freely available and widely disseminated.
• We believe that it is by working together with a broad range of actors committed to a similar vision that we will be most effective and influential.
• We believe that civil society, grass roots activists and children all have the right to participate and express themselves freely and openly in all matters affecting them

Current campaigns

Transparency campaign: We launched a campaign to scrutinise how key positions within child rights are filled, starting with a petition to introduce transparency into the appointment process for the Executive Director of UNICEF.
See: http://www.crin.org/petitions/petition.asp?petID=1014

Complaints Mechanism for Children: We are heavily lobbying the UN to introduce a complaints mechanism for children under the CRC, the only treaty without such a procedure.
See: http://www.crin.org/law/CRC_complaints/

Other Activities

On our website, you can find out about national and international child rights laws, child rights mechanisms, and information on child rights in your country

You can also get help with, among other things, your media activities, strategic litigation, as well as submitting reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and to the Human Rights Council.

In fact, you can find NGO alternative reports submitted to the CRC, according to year, country and session, here

You can find news, reports or events on our website too.

We host microsites on Violence Against Children and Rights-Based Programming, as well as the websites of other networks that share our values and goals: the European Network of Ombudspersons (ENOC), the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Better Care Network and the European Children's Network (EURONET).

The A to Z of child rights, meanwhile, cuts through some of the child rights jargon, while you can find out more about specific issues or themes via our website.

We can also come to you, and save you the bother of coming to us, if you subscribe to our CRINMAILs. These e-letters contain news, information about advocacy initiatives/campaigns, reports, events, and a wealth of other information. We also produce annual or biannual CRIN Reviews for our members.

Achievements

• A successful campaign for a resolution to appoint a Special Representative to the UN Secretary General on Violence Against Children
• Providing a civil society gateway to the UN Study on Violence Against Children
• Enabling organisations and individuals to participate in the Human Rights Council and in the work of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. 
• Enabling organisations to successfully advocate for changes in national legislation to reflect the CRC.
• Established coordination portal for the European Network of Ombudspersons
• Promoting the mainstreaming of child rights at the UN, via participation in working groups and at the advisory level.
• Facilitating communication between governments, activists, NGOs and UN agencies on child rights issues. 
• Supporting the work of the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and facilitating communication between the NGO Group, civil society and the Committee on the Rights of the Child.
• Working on a campaign to encourage the establishment of a communications procedure to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

CRIN organisational overview

CRIN's head office is in London and there are currently five members of staff: A Director, an Office Manager, two Child Rights Officers and a Legal Coordinator.

CRIN is currently funded by the American Jewish World Service, The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Swedish International Development and Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Oak Foundation, Save the Children Sweden, Plan International and UNICEF.

Find

Download CRIN Reviews
See our lists of key readings on various topics: CRIN Readers
Download our Research paper  on Managing Flows of Information
 CRIN Annual Report 2008