A/HRCRES//17/18
Annex
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications
procedure
The States parties to the present Protocol,
Considering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United
Nations, the recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all
members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Noting that the States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (hereinafter
referred to as the Convention) recognize the rights set forth in it to each child within their
jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child’s or his or her
parent’s or legal guardian’s race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion,
national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status,
Reaffirming the universality, indivisibility, interdependence and interrelatedness of all
human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Reaffirming also the status of the child as a subject of rights and as a human being with
dignity and with evolving capacities,
Recognizing that children’s special and dependent status may create real difficulties for
them in pursuing remedies for violations of their rights,
Considering that the present Protocol will reinforce and complement national and regional
mechanisms allowing children to submit complaints for violations of their rights,
Recognizing that the best interests of the child should be a primary consideration to be
respected in pursuing remedies for violations of the rights of the child, and that such
remedies should take into account the need for child-sensitive procedures at all levels,
Encouraging States parties to develop appropriate national mechanisms to enable a child
whose rights have been violated to have access to effective remedies at the domestic level,
Recalling the important role that national human rights institutions and other relevant
specialized institutions, mandated to promote and protect the rights of the child, can play in
this regard,
Considering that, in order to reinforce and complement such national mechanisms and to
further enhance the implementation of the Convention and, where applicable, the Optional
Protocols thereto on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and on the
involvement of children in armed conflict, it would be appropriate to enable the Committee
on the Rights of the Child (hereinafter referred to as the Committee) to carry out the
functions provided for in the present Protocol,
Have agreed as follows:
Part I
General provisions
Article 1
Competence of the Committee on the Rights of the Child
1.
A State party to the present Protocol recognizes the competence of the Committee as
provided for by the present Protocol.
2