Complaints Procedure One Step Closer

The UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution to establish a Working Group to explore the option of establishing a Communications Procedure for the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This would allow complaints of violations to be filed and investigated, in addition to regular reporting. The Open Working Group, composed of states, will report back to the full council during the 13th session.

The resolution was weaker than child rights advocates wanted. They hoped for a mandate to negotiate a draft optional protocol, including the specifics of how the mechanism would work. This is, however, an important first step and will keep the matter on the council agenda. The need to improve implementation of children’s rights will gain prominence as people reflect on the 20th Anniversary of the Convention in November of this year.

Canada did not support the resolution and raised a number of concerns during discussion on it. This is not surprising because Canada did not support the establishment of other complaints mechanisms either.

The CCRC supports the addition of a complaints mechanism and has engaged our government on the matter. We will continue to address objections raised and promote the value of this for children, including children in Canada, since Canada has no national mechanism responsible for implementation of children’s rights.