The Committee on the Rights of the Child

The Committee on the Rights of the Child (the Committee) is the UN expert body which reviews whether States are complying with their obligations under the Convention and its Optional Protocols. It also provides its expert interpretation of the articles and provisions of these treaties through its General Comments and Days of General Discussion.

What is the Committee?

The Committee is a UN body of 18 independent experts on child rights from around the world. It meets three times a year for one month in Geneva, Switzerland.
Committee members are elected in their personal capacity for four-year terms and can be re-elected if nominated. Only States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC or Convention) can nominate and elect Committee members.
The Committee has a small permanent Secretariat based in Geneva, which supports it in its work.
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What does the Committee do?

The main task of the Committee is to review the reports submitted by the States parties to the Convention and its Optional Protocols on the Sale of Children (OPSC) and on Children Involved in Armed Conflict (OPAC). The Committee’s approach is non-confrontational. It attempts to have a constructive discussion with each State so that it can make an accurate assessment of the child rights situation in that country and make recommendations to the State to fulfil its obligations and advance child rights. NGOs can both influence the reporting process and use the Committee’s recommendations to strengthen their advocacy at national level.
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The Committee also issues General Comments and organises Days of General Discussion to assist States and others to correctly interpret – and therefore fully implement – the provisions of the three treaties and advance child rights.
Under the 3rd Optional Protocol on a Communications Procedure (OP3 CRC), the Committee also examines complaints from children about violations of their rights.

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Who are the members of the Committee?

As of 2017, the Committee is composed of the following 18 members:
Ms. Suzanne AHO ASSOUMA, Togo (Vice Chairperson)
Ms. Amal Salman ALDOSERI, BahrainCRC Committee_June 2015 a
Ms. Hynd AYOUBI IDRISSI, Morocco
Mr. Jorge CARDONA LLORENS, Spain
Mr. Bernard GASTAUD, Monaco (Rapporteur)
Ms. Olga a. KHAZOVA, Russian Federation (Vice Chairperson)
Mr. Hatem KOTRANI, Tunisia
Mr. Cephas LUMINA, Zambia
Mr. Gehad MADI, Egypt
Mr. Benyam Dawit MEZMUR, Ethiopia
Mr. Clarence NELSON, Samoa (Vice Chairperson)
Ms. Mikiko OTANI, Japan
Mr. Luis Ernesto PEDERNERA REYNA, Uruguay
Mr. José Angel RODRÍGUEZ REYES, Venezuela (Vice Chairperson)
Ms. Kirsten SANDBERG, Norway
Ms. Ann Marie SKELTON, South Africa
Ms. Velina TODOROVA, Bulgaria
Ms. Renate WINTER, Austria (Chairperson)
More information on current and past members is on the OHCHR website.
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