What is the Children’s Advisory Team?
Child Rights Connect’s Children’s Advisory Team (CAT) is a global team of child human rights defenders who support Child Rights Connect to shape
and take forward activities on children’s rights. The CAT is part of the structure of Child Rights Connect and renews its mandate regularly.
When was the Children’s Advisory Team created?
The first organisational Child Rights Connect Children’s Advisory Team was created and began its activities in February 2020.
Child Rights Connect has created and supported Children’s Advisory Teams in the past, and we have built on the experiences and lessons learned from outgoing Child Advisors!
Some examples of our work in the past is that Child Rights Connect first supported a Children’s Advisory Team of 21 child advisors to be at the core of its activities for the 2018 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s Day of General Discussion (DGD) on Protecting and Empowering Children as Human Rights Defenders. You can find out more about that here! It then supported a global Children’s Advisory Team of 9 child advisors in the development of UNICEF’s official child-friendly UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Take a look for more information here!
Who is on the Team?
Meet our 2024 CAT !
If you want to get to know the 13 current child advisors better, click here.
We developed a child advisor selection process with our outgoing child advisors which you can read here- EN | FR | ES to ensure inclusivity, diversity and fairness. New child advisors will be selected every year.
Each child advisor has a supporting organisation – you can read the Terms of Reference for the supporting organisations here – EN | FR | ES
What children’s rights have the Child Advisors been working on?
Respect for children's views
The Children’s Advisory Teams have been involved in many activities on this right, check them out!
They helped develop a child-friendly of the Council of Europe study “Children as defenders of human rights”. You can read it in English, French and Spanish!
The Child Advisors were consulted in the development of the OHCHR report “Children’s Vision for Human Rights”! Have a read here in English.
Also have a look at the incredible intervention of some of our Child Advisors at the UDHR75 initiative for the Voices in defence of human rights high-level event! Or read the webstory on their experience being involved in this initative.
The CAT co-developed the child-friendly Guide on the rights of child human rights defenders plus lots of other resources for CHRDs! Access here!
Environmental Rights
Our Children’s Advisory Team was consulted in the development of a school kit on children’s environmental rights and climate change, you can find the tools here!
The child advisors took part in a consultation organized by CRCnt with the UN Special Rapporteur on climate change together with other children. Read the summary here in English, French and Spanish!
The CAT was also consulted to provide feedback on the Child-Friendly version of the United Nation’s Committee on the Rights of the Child’s General Comment N.26! Have a read here!
The Child Advisors developed a social media campaign to raise awareness about the General Comment and to explain how climate change impacts their rights. Check out the posts of Doris, Anghelina, Fran, Catarina, Arjun and Anna Katarina!
Social Rights
One of our Child Advisors, Marie Reine, was invited as a keynote speaker on the panel of the UN Annual Day on the Rights of the Child on Inclusive Social Protection, listen to her intervention here!
The CAT was consulted to provide feedback on the Child-Friendly version of the OHCHR 2023 Report to the Human Rights Council on child rights & inclusive social protection! Have a read here!
Children in armed conflict
Four child advisors, Kamsi, Karen, Layan and Tahera worked on a report as a submission to the OHCHR report on the rights of the child and violations of the human rights of children in armed confict. Please give it a read in English or in Spanish.
For more information about children’s rights in armed conflict, have a look at the small reading we developed below on this topic.
More information on this process can be found on this website.
Protection from violence
In November and December 2024, two consultations took place with 11 children to advise the Council of Europe on developing a Recommendation on age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education. Have a read here!
The child advisors also developed a resource for other children to understand the development and timeline of the Recommendation. You can find this document here!
Right to health
The child advisors worked with the Council of Europe to create an accessible version of the “Guide to children’s participation in decisions about their health”.
Find it here!
Messages from our child advisors!
Below you can find blog posts that our child advisors have prepared on topics close to their hearts. We hope you give them a read!
- Read Nahia’s blog post on the right to health and physical shape here!
Publications that the Child Advisors have helped develop:
A report about Children’s Vision for Human Rights! Have a read here in English.
The CAT was consulted to provide feedback on the Child-Friendly version of the 2023 Report to the Human Rights Council on child rights & inclusive social protection! Have a read here!
The CAT was consulted to provide feedback on the Child-Friendly version of the United Nation’s Committee on the Rights of the Child’s General Comment N.26! Have a read here!
A child-friendly Guide on the rights of child human rights defenders plus lots of other resources for CHRDs! Access here!
In progress… Participation in the Child Rights Mainstreaming process & Development of child-friendly version of UN Guidance Note on Child Right Mainstreaming