CRC/GC/2003/4
page 2
3.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child notes with concern that in implementing their
obligations under the Convention, States parties have not given sufficient attention to the specific
concerns of adolescents as rights holders and to promoting their health and development. This
has motivated the Committee to adopt the present general comment in order to raise awareness
and provide States parties with guidance and support in their efforts to guarantee the respect for,
protection and fulfilment of the rights of adolescents, including through the formulation of
specific strategies and policies.
4.
The Committee understands the concepts of “health and development” more broadly than
being strictly limited to the provisions defined in articles 6 (right to life, survival and
development) and 24 (right to health) of the Convention. One of the aims of this
general comment is precisely to identify the main human rights that need to be promoted and
protected in order to ensure that adolescents do enjoy the highest attainable standard of health,
develop in a well-balanced manner, and are adequately prepared to enter adulthood and assume a
constructive role in their communities and in society at large. This general comment should be
read in conjunction with the Convention and its two Optional Protocols on the sale of children,
child prostitution and child pornography, and on the involvement of children in armed conflict,
as well as other relevant international human rights norms and standards.1
I.
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES AND OTHER
OBLIGATIONS OF STATES PARTIES
5.
As recognized by the World Conference on Human Rights (1993) and repeatedly stated
by the Committee, children’s rights too are indivisible and interrelated. In addition to articles 6
and 24, other provisions and principles of the Convention are crucial in guaranteeing that
adolescents fully enjoy their right to health and development.
The right to non-discrimination
6.
States parties have the obligation to ensure that all human beings below 18 enjoy all the
rights set forth in the Convention without discrimination (art. 2), including with regard to “race,
colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin,
property, disability, birth or other status”. These grounds also cover adolescents’ sexual
orientation and health status (including HIV/AIDS and mental health). Adolescents who are
subject to discrimination are more vulnerable to abuse, other types of violence and exploitation,
and their health and development are put at greater risk. They are therefore entitled to special
attention and protection from all segments of society.
Appropriate guidance in the exercise of rights
7.
The Convention acknowledges the responsibilities, rights and duties of parents (or other
persons legally responsible for the child) “to provide, in a manner consistent with the evolving
capacities of the child, appropriate direction and guidance in the exercise by the child of the
rights recognized in the Convention” (art. 5). The Committee believes that parents or other
persons legally responsible for the child need to fulfil with care their right and responsibility to
provide direction and guidance to their adolescent children in the exercise by the latter of their
rights. They have an obligation to take into account the adolescents’ views, in accordance with
their age and maturity, and to provide a safe and supportive environment in which the adolescent