General Comments
The Committee produces General Comments to explain the rights contained in the CRC and its Optional Protocols and provide guidance with respect to particular issues. General Comments are key standards that help States improve both the way they write their reports and the way they implement the treaties.
Child Rights Connect raises awareness and promotes the use of General Comments, monitors the development of new General Comments and coordinates substantive inputs from our members to ensure progress of the standards. We also advocate for meaningful inclusion of children’s views in all General Comments and provide advice to the Committee and other stakeholders on how to do this meaningfully.
The Committee works on the development of a new General Comment or the updating of an old one once at a time.
To produce its General Comments, the Committee invites all interested parties to submit their ideas of themes, comment on the concept note and submit contributions.
In 2020, the Committee recorded a video message addressed to the children who participated in consultations for the General Comment No.25 on digital environment. Consultations were carried out with more than 700 children from 26 countries – 6 continents! This is a very good practice of the Committee providing feedback to children and their supporting organisations on how their views and inputs are valued and used!
Next General Comment
The Committee on the Rights of the Child will dedicate its next General Comment No. 26 to children’s rights and the environment with a special focus on climate change. Read our news piece and the Concept Note.
The General Comment will provide authoritative guidance on how children’s rights are impacted by the environmental crisis and what States must do to ensure that children live in a clean, green, healthy, and sustainable world.
Consultations
From December 2021 to October 2022, the Committee is hosting a series of offline and online consultations and workshops with the global community, including specific consultations with children and young people, to inform the General Comment launching in March 2023.
Consultations inform the content and shape the draft of the General Comment, specifically on the obligations of States to uphold children’s rights in the environmental context. They help fill gaps in the current understanding of certain key issues and clarify concepts (e.g. rights of future generations). Most importantly, they integrate the voices of children and young people, the most impacted by the issue.
We encourage you to visit the official website and check out the ways in which you can get involved!
