Work in Progress: Twenty-five Years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.” The General Measures of Implementation Across the Globe

Tara Collins,Lisa Wolff

doi:10.22215/cjcr.v1i1.22

Abstract

Since its adoption twenty-five years ago, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has guided many actors and institutions around the world in relation to children. Yet, what influence has it had upon legislation, policies and programs, and what progress has occurred for children? An important measure of its impact is the status of the General Measures of the Implementation of the CRC, which the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has identified as a foundational requirement of the framework of action. Focusing on law reform, budgeting, monitoring, and independent human rights institutions, this paper describes the state ofthese general measures with examples in different countries around the world to confirm the CRC's significance in governance and public policy. It is submitted that the CRC has been influential in public policy and that there is much more room for progress guided by the CRC. The paper concludes with recommendations for CRC states parties.

Highlights

The 1989 United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the most successful international human rights treaty ever with 194 states parties (UN, 2014)
This section is followed by a discussion that focuses on the specific general measures of law reform, budgeting, monitoring, and independent human rights institutions with illustrative examples from different countries around the world to confirm the CRC’s significance in governance and public policy
While Ireland’s Ombudsman for Children has a clear mandate to support law reform for example, other independent human rights institutions must rely upon others to inform them about policy initiatives with adequate time to influence outcomes, or resort to advocacy through other means (Sedletzki, 2012)

Summary

Introduction

The 1989 United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the most successful international human rights treaty ever with 194 states parties (UN, 2014). This section is followed by a discussion that focuses on the specific general measures of law reform, budgeting, monitoring, and independent human rights institutions with illustrative examples from different countries around the world to confirm the CRC’s significance in governance and public policy.1 The article concludes with proposed recommendations for improved implementation of CRC general measures as the foundation for a more vigorous promotion of children’s rights.

Results

Conclusion