The Convention on the Rights of the Child establishes the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which is a body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention as well as its optional protocols that have entered into force (i.e. Optional Protocols on the involvement of children in armed conflict, and on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography).
Reporting responsibilities. States parties undertake to submit to the Committee reports on measures they have adopted which give effect to the rights recognized in the Convention and on the progress in the enjoyment of children’s rights in their territories.
The Committee on the Rights of Child’s procedures aim for a constructive dialogue with governments, which are encouraged to adopt a problem-oriented and self-critical approach in their reports. States are asked to identify “factors and difficulties” affecting their efforts to give effect to the rights provided by the Convention. They are also asked to indicate “implementation priorities” for the coming five-year period.
The Committee meets three times a year. The Geneva-based UN Centre for Human Rights serves as a Secretariat for the Committee. The independent experts are appointed by the states parties to the Convention.
States parties are required to submit reports to the Committee two years after acceding to the Convention and then every five years thereafter. The Committee provides guidelines that contribute to uniformity in state reporting. The Committee examines submissions and provides its concerns and observations in the form of “concluding observations.”
In addition to the work of the Committee as the primary monitoring mechanism, a number of other international human rights bodies contribute to improving respect for the rights of the child in their particular areas of competence. These include many of the treaty bodies charged with monitoring adherence to the core international human rights treaties whose reports supplement information generated by the CRC.
Occasionally the Committee suggests to the UN General Assembly thematic discussions relating to key aspects of the Convention.
The Committee can involve other UN bodies and agencies either by seeking contributions to their reports or requesting assistance for states parties. Civil society organizations also contribute to the work of the CRC at the national and international levels.
The Committee’s most recent report on Canada (CRC/C/CAN/CO/3-4) was released 5 October, 2012. The report includes a number of recommendations for improvements to Canadian implementation of its obligations under the Convention. Widely reported were suggestions for remedying Canada’s Youth Criminal Justice Act following changes that left Canadian laws falling short of international standards. Canada was also chastised for failing to provide adequate social services to aboriginal children and for the disproportionate number of aboriginal children in the criminal justice system.