“How can we ensure that the DGD is not just a one-day show?”
This was the provocative question that Kate Gilmore, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, asked the child advisors during a private meeting with them at the DGD.
The children’s answer was as straightforward as the question: “we all have the responsibility to follow-up to the DGD as well as to put in place a mechanism to monitor and assess what will happen after the DGD. The DGD is just a start.”
The theme of Child Human Rights Defenders was not just a one-day conference in Geneva during the 2018 Committee on the Rights of the Child Day of General Discussion (DGD), but an ambitious and long-term project of Child Rights Connect. We are seeking to promote a global movement for children human rights defenders. Such a movement will help to catalyse new, and strengthen existing, initiatives to empower and protect children as human rights defenders. It is also playing a vital and pioneering role to connect children human rights defenders across the world, and to many different activities at local, national, regional and international levels.
This page responds to the child advisors’ call for a platform to monitor the follow-up. It showcases direct follow-up activities to the 2018 DGD as well as examples of the different ways in which the global movement for child human rights defenders is growing at different levels and in many different forms. We hope that these impact stories will inspire you to get involved and to learn more about the ways in which children can be protected and empowered as human rights defenders.
Do you have a DGD follow-up story you wish to share with us? Please send it to secretariat@childrightsconnect.org with the subject ‘DGD follow-up’!
“The Now and the Future”: Stepping up our support to children worldwide to help them become safer, louder, and bolder in their human rights actions!
The world faces many intersecting crises. Children, who increasingly act as human rights defenders, are providing answers! Through our new global project, we will follow their lead and help advance their rights, empowerment, and protection. [...]
2023 in review: A historic step within the UN system and greater momentum for implementing a child rights approach
Download the visual on these results here! Why child rights mainstreaming is critical to realizing children’s rights Across the globe, children bear the brunt of multiple crises, violations of children’s rights are on the rise, [...]
2023 in review: Elevating children’s voices in new international guidance on what States must do to uphold children’s right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
Download our visual about these results here! While bearing the brunt of the triple planetary crisis, children remain largely excluded from related decision-making “Adults! The real victims of environmental destruction are us, children”, said a [...]
2023 in review: Bridging the gap between non-State actors and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child for increased accountability to children
Download our visual on these results here! Why a platform facilitating civil society’s engagement in the work of the Committee is still needed The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC Committee) is the [...]
2023 in review: Six years of learning help scale up the work of (and our support to) our Children’s Advisory Team in making a change worldwide
“Nothing about us without us” We, at Child Rights Connect, strive to act by this mantra. Because children’s voices are out there and should dictate our efforts to advance their rights. Because implementation of the [...]
2023 in review: Bringing more children to the table and influencing the Human Rights Council and related processes on the digital environment: a key milestone
Download the visual on these results here! Children’s voices historically ignored at the Human Rights Council The UN Human Rights Council is the main intergovernmental body within the United Nations (UN) responsible for advancing human [...]
2023 in review: Elevating the voices and rights of child human rights defenders across the globe to make a change
Download our visual about these results here! Children acting as human rights defenders remain often ignored, neglected and intimidated We cannot say it enough: whether we call them child human rights defenders (CHRDs), child activists [...]
A huge victory for child human rights defenders: explicit recognition and protection under the new Law on Children’s Rights of the Republic of Moldova
The long-awaited Law on Children’s Rights of the Republic of Moldova entered into force on 21 December 2023[1]. Child Rights Connect with its partner organisation the Child Rights Information Center (CRIC), as part of the project [...]
2022 in review: Further building momentum for realising the rights, protection and empowerment of child human rights defenders at all levels
Children experience specific and additional challenges and violations when acting as human rights defenders because of their status in society "Children are already human rights defenders, with the same rights as adults. We must recognize [...]
“Changing the narrative means changing the narrator, putting children’s voices at the centre”, said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at our 40th anniversary conference on 26 May
In a context of growing anti-child rights rhetoric globally, on 26 May 2023, more than 200 children, including many of our child advisors, as well as child rights experts and practitioners (among whom around 74% [...]
2022 in review: New spaces opened for children to voice their views, engage adults, and act for what they believe in
Historic exclusion of children in decision-making and persistent pushback on child participation Children have historically been excluded from discussions and decision-making at all levels, including from international policy debates on matters that directly affect them. [...]
A new pilot project to boost the agency of children at risk of or separated from their parents to shape and take forward their human rights activities in Bulgaria
Thanks to project funding from Tanya’s Dream Fund hosted by Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, we have recently launched a new pilot project in Bulgaria, in collaboration with the National Network for Children (NNC) and the New [...]
For the first time ever, children will inform the development (and implementation) of a new law on the protection of human rights defenders! This is our project in Moldova.
Thanks to new project funding from the Ville de Genève as well as on-going financial support from the Swedish International Development and Cooperation Agency (Sida), we are about to step up our action in Moldova, [...]
Spread the word about our new #ChildrenStandUp4HumanRights appeal !
We have just launched our new campaign #ChildrenStandUp4HumanRights: Follow their lead! to garner support for our child advisors to take forward their own national awareness-raising and advocacy campaigns in the context of the 25th [...]
Landmark CRC Concluding Observations on Child Human Rights Defenders linked to freedom of expression!
In September 2022, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (the Committee) held its 91st Session and adopted recommendations for the State parties under review. For the first time, the Committee adopted a [...]
Norway drops children from important human rights resolution
Check out the op-ed developed by Gina Ekholt and Issac Elstad on this year's resolution on human rights defenders! 29 March 2022 - This week, the members of the UN Human Rights Council will adopt [...]
Spotlight on child human rights defenders in Moldova
Child Rights Connect, its member Child Rights Information Center (CRIC) and a coalition of NGOs have been conducting innovative and experimental work that has put child human rights defenders (CHRDs) on the agenda in Moldova. [...]
Adopted General Comment No. 25 of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment incorporates some of Child Rights Connect’ key asks focusing on Child Human Rights Defenders (CHRDs)
On Wednesday 24th March, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (the Committee) officially launched their new General Comment No. 25 on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment taking into consideration [...]
NEW!: Launch of a Child-friendly UPR Guide!
Child Rights Connect and UPR info are delighted to announce the launch of “The UPR & Me: My Guide to Participating in the UPR”! Whilst there are many good practice examples of children’s participation in [...]
Child human right defenders have their say on the CRC’s draft General Comment on “Children’s rights in relation to the digital environment”
This week Child Rights Connect, members and partners made a joint focused submission to the draft General Comment of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) “Children’s rights in relation to the [...]
The Child Rights Connect child advisors mobilise in response to COVID-19
Just weeks after a new global Children’s Advisory Team was established at Child Rights Connect (an international network of children’s organisations with a Secretariat based in Geneva), we faced a COVID-19 outbreak. Soon after, the [...]
Call for child advisor applications: New Child Rights Connect Children’s Advisory Team 2020-2021! ?
We are now accepting applications from children to become child advisors on our new Children’s Advisory Team 2020/2021! Child Rights Connect is setting up a new global Children’s Advisory Team, which will become a permanent [...]
Children Human Rights Defenders take landmark action on climate crisis through OPIC
Child Rights Connect welcomes the lodging this week of a child-led complaint to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child concerning the global climate crisis. On 23 September 2019, 16 children human rights [...]
CHRDs, UN and civil society experts agree on a roadmap to move forward the 2018 DGD outcome recommendations!
Following the release of the 2018 Day of General Discussion (DGD) outcome report on Protecting and Empowering Children as Human Rights Defenders, a group of experts meet in June to discuss how to follow up on and [...]
Civil society space, children and young people on the Human Rights Council’s agenda
Last week Child Rights Connect was invited to participate in a breakfast seminar with States and civil society organized by the Permanente Mission of Ireland. The seminar was an opportunity to examine recent experiences attempting [...]
Input to the OHCHR report on child rights and SDGs
The UN Office for Human Rights (OHCHR) is reporting annually to the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development to provide inputs from a child rights perspective to the yearly thematic reviews of progress at [...]
The 2018 DGD outcome report is adopted!
We are delighted to announce that the CRC Committee has adopted the 2018 DGD outcome report on Protecting and Empowering Children as Human Rights Defenders! It includes the detailed findings of the plenary and workshop discussions, and [...]
Joint Submission to the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders
In his next thematic report to the General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders will address the topic of impunity for human rights violations and abuses committed against human rights [...]
DGD child speaker Gabriel talks to Michel Forst at the ICSW
Last week, 17-year-old Gabriel from Brazil participated in the International Civil Society Week (ICSW) in Belgrade, Serbia, between 6 – 11 April. Invited by the Bridge 47 and CIVICUS and supported by our member the [...]
Children Human Rights Defenders in Scotland have developed a report on CHRDs and a child-friendly Declaration on HRDs!
Exciting follow-up to the DGD! Find out more here: https://www.cypcs.org.uk/defenders The eight recommendations of the report are explained here: https://www.cypcs.org.uk/news/in-the-news/children-and-young-people-defend-our-human-rights-here-are-eight-ways-adults-can-help-them-do-it Also, they have produced a child-friendly version of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders! Find [...]
Children Human Rights Defenders in focus at the UN Human Rights Council
Children have so far been almost invisible in the Human Rights Council’s narrative about human rights defenders. The resolutions adopted by the Council and the reports presented by the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders [...]
The CRC Committee mentions Children Human Rights Defenders in the COBs for Guinea & Bahrain
As a follow-up to the pre-session and the DGD, Child Rights Connect coordinated with the child rights coalition in Guinea in order to include references to the CRC and the protection of children human rights [...]
The 2019 DGD Children’s Advisory Team!
11 child advisors are taking part in a 2019 DGD Children’s Advisory Team and will be empowered throughout this year to play a central role in several DGD follow-up activities and 30th anniversary events! In [...]
CHRDs recognised during Declaration’s 20th anniversary celebrations
During a high-level UN event marking the 20th anniversary of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders in December 2018, children were recognised as human rights defenders and there were calls to afford them additional and stronger support and [...]
Celebrating Human Rights Day with our Child Advisors!
This Thursday 13th December, for Human Rights Day celebrations and to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, OHCHR organised a roundtable discussion with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, who [...]
Children human rights defenders on the agenda of the 34 States from the Americas!
The Meeting of the Executive Council of the Inter-American Children's Institute (IIN-OAS) took place in October 2018 and included a session on children human rights defenders. This was the opportunity for children, including the DGD [...]