Global InformationConvention on the Rights of the Child information
 Parties to the convention
Signed, but not ratified
Non-signatory | |
| Signed | 20 November 1989[1] |
|---|---|
| Location | New York City[1] |
| Effective | 2 September 1990[1] |
| Condition | 20 ratifications[2] |
| Signatories | 140[1] |
| Parties | 196[1] (all eligible states except the United States) |
| Depositary | UN Secretary-General[3] |
| Languages | Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish[1] |
| Full text | |
 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child at Wikisource | |
| Youth rights |
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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.[4] The convention defines a child as any human being under the age of eighteen, unless the age of majority is attained earlier under national legislation.[5]
Nations that have ratified this convention or have acceded to it are bound by international law. When a state has signed the treaty but not ratified it, it is not yet bound by the treaty's provisions but is already obliged to not act contrary to its purpose.[6]
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, composed of 18 independent experts, is responsible for supervising the implementation of the convention by the states that have ratified it. Their governments are required to report to and appear before the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child periodically to be examined on their progress regarding the advancement of the implementation of the convention and the status of child rights in their country.[7] Their reports and the committee's written views and concerns are available on the committee's website.
Individuals can appeal to the Committee on the Rights of the Child if they believe that rights, according to the convention, have been violated. The third possibility for monitoring the implementation of the convention is inquiries that the Committee on the Rights of the Child can carry out on their own initiative if they have reliable information that leads them to believe that a member state has violated the convention's rights. However, "states ... may opt-out from the inquiry procedure, at the time of signature or ratification or accession".[8] Once a year, the committee submits a report to the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, which also hears a statement from the CRC Chair, and the Assembly adopts a Resolution on the Rights of the Child.[9]
The UN General Assembly adopted the convention and opened it for signature on 20 November 1989 (the 30th anniversary of its Declaration of the Rights of the Child).[10] It came into force on 2 September 1990,[1] after it was ratified by the required number of nations. As of 9 May 2024, 196 countries are party to it, including every member of the United Nations except the United States.[1][9][11][12]
Two optional protocols were adopted on 25 May 2000. The First Optional Protocol restricts the involvement of children in military conflicts, and the Second Optional Protocol prohibits the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. More than 170 states have ratified both protocols.[13][14] A third optional protocol relating to communication of complaints was adopted in December 2011 and opened for signature on 28 February 2012. It came into effect on 14 April 2014.[15]
- ^ a b c d e f g h United Nations (2020). "Chapter IV. Human Rights. 11) Convention on the Rights of the Child" in: United Nations Treaty Collection. Depositary. Status of Treaties. Archived 8 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
- ^ "Article 49 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child" (PDF). Website of the United Nations (in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish). United Nations. 20 November 1989. p. 22 (paper), 52 (this PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
- ^ "Article 47 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child" (PDF). Website of the United Nations (in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish). United Nations. 20 November 1989. p. 21 (paper), 51 (this PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
- ^ The Campaign for U.S. Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), ed. (2018). "What is the CRC?". Archived from the original on 9 May 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- ^ "Article 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child". Website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). United Nations. 20 November 1989. Archived from the original on 13 January 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
- ^ UNICEF (ed.). "How the Convention on the Rights of the Child works. Joining, implementing, and monitoring the world's most widely ratified human rights treaty". Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- ^ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (ed.). "Committee on the Rights of the Child. Monitoring children's rights". www.ohchr.org. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- ^ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (ed.). "Human Rights Bodies - Complaints Procedures". Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- ^ a b Child Rights Information Network (2008). Convention on the Rights of the Child Archived 4 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 November 2008.
- ^ United Nations General Assembly Session 44 Resolution 25. Convention on the Rights of the Child A/RES/44/25 20 November 1989. Retrieved 22 August 2008.
- ^ Amnesty International USA (2007). Convention on the Rights of the Child: Frequently Asked Questions Archived 22 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 November 2008.
- ^ "UN convention on the rights of the child" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
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