The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is a human rights treaty that identifies the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children. It was opened for signature on 20 November 1989 and came into force on 2 September 1990.
Today, 196 countries have signed the Convention. This means that they are bound by international law to ensure that the rights enshrined in the Convention are enjoyed and exercised by all children in their respective countries. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child monitors the signatories compliance through various reporting mechanisms.
Human rights treaties usually have Optional Protocols which either provide procedures regarding the treaty or address a substantive area related to the treaty. Optional Protocols are treaties in their own right, and are open to signature, accession or ratification by countries who are party to the main treaty.
So far, three Optional Protocols to the UNCRC have been adopted. The First Optional Protocol restricts children’s involvement in military conflicts. The Second Optional Protocol prohibits the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography. The Third Optional Protocol relates to communication of complaints. The first two protocols have been ratified by more than 150 countries while the third protocol has been ratified by 50 countries.
Download the three Optional Protocols here:
- Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict
- Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Pornography
- Optional Protocol on a Communications Procedure
To raise children’s and young people’s understanding of the optional protocols, the Office of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Violence against Children (OSRSG-VAC) has published child friendly versions.
See child-friendly versions of the Optional Protocols here.
