UNICEF’s role in promoting and supporting the Convention on the Rights of the Child
Child rights are at the heart of everything UNICEF does.
UNICEF is the UN organization mandated to protect the rights of every child, everywhere, especially the most disadvantaged, and is the only organization specifically named in the Convention on the Rights of the Child as a source of expert assistance and advice.
“UNICEF is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and strives to establish children's rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behaviour towards children.”
Thanks to a presence in nearly every country in the world, UNICEF is able to reach places others cannot, and thus is uniquely positioned to make a difference in the lives of children.
We have more than 70 years' experience working for children and translating the principles of child rights into real results for children around the world.
Our working relationship with States Parties, our global credibility, and our considerable technical and financial support to States and civil society, place UNICEF in a privileged position to advance children's rights by strengthening the monitoring and implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
By promoting the ratification and supporting the implementation of the Convention and its Optional Protocols, UNICEF helps strengthen laws and policies and improves understanding of the Convention at all levels of society, including:
- Supporting governments to implement the Convention through laws and policies, including providing institutional and professional capacity development.
- Participating in different stages of the monitoring process. For example, UNICEF country offices assist governments in organizing major consultations prior to drafting their reports.
- Supporting the Committee on the Rights of the Child. For example, by participating in the Committee's review of submitted reports.
- Working with governments to identify implementation strategies in response to the Committee's recommendations.
- Helping to ensure that voices that too often go unheard are reflected in the information presented to the Committee. For example, by facilitating wide-reaching consultations at all levels of society, submitting written reports on the situation of women and children, and encouraging non-governmental organizations to submit their own reports to the Committee as a supplement to government reports.
