Connecting with the Committee

Useful words & phrases

  • Children:
    Anyone under 18.
  • Committee on the rights of the Child (the Committee):
               A group of 18 international children’s
    rights experts who check how well governments
    protect and respect children’s rights.
  • Convention:
    Another word for ‘treaty’.
  • NGO(Non-Governmental Organisation):
    A charity or group that is not part
    of a government.
  • Ratify:
    Agreeing to do what a treaty says.
  • Treaty:
    A formal agreement that a country can
    decide to accept. It can also be
    called a ‘convention’.

There are a number of ways that children can be involved in protecting their own rights.
One is by making a report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (the Committee.
The Committee is a group of international children’s rights experts who monitor how well governments protect and respect children’s rights.
The Committee is able to put pressure on governments by publicizing their failures to respect and protect children’s rights. It can also give strong advice on ways they can improve, though it can’t force them to do something.

 Why is it important for children to write a report to the Committee?

The Committee needs to hear direct from children about how well their governments are protecting and respecting their rights. It receives reports from governments, NGOs and UNICEF (adults who write about children’s situations as they see them), so reports from children give the Committee a more complete picture.
Reporting to the Committee is a chance to say how well a particular government protects children’s rights. It is a powerful way of helping the Committee understand what it is really like to be a child in that country.
Find out more about making a report to the Committee: My Pocket Guide to CRC Reporting [English] [Español] [Français]