CRC/C/GC/20
I. Introduction
1.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child defines a child as every human being
below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child majority is attained
earlier, and emphasizes that States should respect and ensure the rights embodied in the
Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind. While
the Convention recognizes the rights of all persons under 18 years, the implementation of
rights should take account of children’s development and their evolving capacities.
Approaches adopted to ensure the realization of the rights of adolescents differ significantly
from those adopted for younger children.
2.
Adolescence is a life stage characterized by growing opportunities, capacities,
aspirations, energy and creativity, but also significant vulnerability. Adolescents are agents
of change and a key asset and resource with the potential to contribute positively to their
families, communities and countries. Globally, adolescents engage positively in many
spheres, including health and education campaigns, family support, peer education,
community development initiatives, participatory budgeting and creative arts, and make
contributions towards peace, human rights, environmental sustainability and climate justice.
Many adolescents are at the cutting edge of the digital and social media environments,
which form an increasingly central role in their education, culture and social networks, and
hold potential in terms of political engagement and monitoring accountability.
3.
The Committee observes that the potential of adolescents is widely compromised
because States parties do not recognize or invest in the measures needed for them to enjoy
their rights. Data disaggregated by age, sex and disability are not available in most
countries to inform policy, identify gaps and support the allocation of appropriate resources
for adolescents. Generic policies designed for children or young people often fail to address
adolescents in all their diversity and are inadequate to guarantee the realization of their
rights. The costs of inaction and failure are high: the foundations laid down during
adolescence in terms of emotional security, health, sexuality, education, skills, resilience
and understanding of rights will have profound implications, not only for their individual
optimum development, but also for present and future social and economic development.
4.
In the present general comment, the Committee provides guidance to States on the
measures necessary to ensure the realization of the rights of children during adolescence,
cognizant also of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It highlights the
importance of a human rights-based approach that includes recognition and respect for the
dignity and agency of adolescents; their empowerment, citizenship and active participation
in their own lives; the promotion of optimum health, well-being and development; and a
commitment to the promotion, protection and fulfilment of their human rights, without
discrimination.
5.
The Committee recognizes that adolescence is not easily defined, and that individual
children reach maturity at different ages. Puberty occurs at different ages for boys and girls,
and different brain functions mature at different times. The process of transitioning from
childhood to adulthood is influenced by context and environment, as reflected in the wide
variation in cultural expectations of adolescents in national legislations, which afford
different thresholds for entry into adult activities, and across international bodies, which
employ a variety of age ranges to define adolescence. The present general comment does
not seek, therefore, to define adolescence, but instead focuses on the period of childhood
from 10 years until the 18th birthday to facilitate consistency in data collection. 1
1
See www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/topics/adolescence/dev/en/.
3