The Future of Thematic Children's Rights Institutions in a National Human Rights Institution World: The Paris Principles and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

Abstract

I. Introduction II. Independent Human Rights Institutions for Children and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child A. Typology of Independent Children's Rights Institutions B. Geography of Independent Children's Rights Institutions C. Threats to Thematic Children's Rights Institutions: Closure, Merger with an NHRI or Rejection of Model D. Thematic Human Rights Institutions for Children Versus NHRIs: Countervailing Forces and Views E. UN Paris Principles, the ICC and the Committee on the Rights of the Child: NHRIs with a Children's Rights Focus Versus Thematic Children's Rights Institutions III. Conclusion I. Introduction Independent thematic human rights have been established by some states to focus on the protection and promotion of one category of human rights or the rights of a vulnerable group. (1) Children are a vulnerable population and, in response, thematic children's rights have been established at the national and sub-national levels of government, albeit in a relatively small number of states. (2) Leaders of these are given titles such as ombudsperson for children, ombudsman for children, commissioner for or defender of children. The first of its kind, Norway's Ombudsman for Children, was established in 1981. (3) By the early 1990s, however, the international community began to place greater importance on the establishment and strengthening of broad-based national human rights (NHRIs). The minimum standards for NHRIs were enshrined in the Paris Principles, which were drafted in 1991 and adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1993. (4) The Paris Principles have been interpreted in more depth by the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (ICC) through its General Observations and accreditation process. (5) In the ensuing years, NHRIs--primarily national level human rights commissions and national level human rights ombudsman institutions--have multiplied. Some of these NHRIs have a legislative responsibility to focus on children's rights while other NHRIs prioritize children's rights through their operating practices. Today, human rights that pay special attention to children's rights are commonly understood to comprise thematic children's rights at all levels of governance, broad-based NHRIs that pay special attention to children's rights, and sub-national human rights with a focus on children. (6) Terms such as independent human rights for children or independent children's rights institutions (ICRIs) are used to describe this institutional mixture. (7) Regardless of their structure, a core function of most ICRIs is to facilitate the domestic implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and its Protocols. (8) Since great importance has been placed on the establishment of NHRIs that are fully compliant with the Paris Principles, the existence and role of thematic human rights institutions, including thematic children's rights institutions, are being reevaluated. In recent years, some countries have collapsed thematic children's rights into broad-based NHRIs while others have established only one comprehensive NHRI. Countervailing factors and forces influence the choice of institutional structure made by governments when deciding whether or not to establish or retain a thematic children's rights institution. These include economic factors, efficiency concerns, political attitudes to children's rights and domestic and regional legal systems. There are also competing functional considerations that influence the decision whether to have a thematic children's rights institution as opposed to integrating the children's rights mandate into a broad-based NHRI (or equivalent sub-national human rights institution). …