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The right of the child to rest, leisure, play, recreational activities, cultural life and the arts 2013, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- Girls: A combination of significant burdens of domestic responsibilities and sibling and family care, protective concerns on the part of parents, lack of appropriate facilities and cultural assumptions imposing limitations on the expectations and behaviour of girls can serve to diminish their opportunities to enjoy the rights provided for in article 31, particularly in the adolescent years. In addition, gender differentiation in what is considered girls' and boys' play and which is widely reinforced by parents, caregivers, the media and producers/manufacturers of games and toys serve to maintain traditional gender-role divisions in society. Evidence indicates that whereas boys' games prepare them for successful performance in a wide range of professional and other settings in modern society, girls' games, in contrast, tend to direct them towards the private sphere of the home and future roles as wives and mothers. Adolescent boys and girls are often discouraged from engaging in joint recreational activities. Furthermore, girls generally have lower participation rates in physical activities and organized games as a consequence of either external cultural or self-imposed exclusion or lack of appropriate provision. This pattern is of concern in the light of the proven physical, psychological, social and intellectual benefits associated with participation in sports activities. Given these widespread and pervasive barriers impeding girls' realization of their rights under article 31, the Committee urges States parties to take action to challenge gender stereotypes which serve to compound and reinforce patterns of discrimination and inequality of opportunity.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- In light of articles 3, 6, 12, 19 and 24 (3) of the Convention, States parties should take all effective measures to eliminate all acts and activities which threaten the right to life of adolescents, including honour killings. The Committee strongly urges States parties to develop and implement awareness-raising campaigns, education programmes and legislation aimed at changing prevailing attitudes, and address gender roles and stereotypes that contribute to harmful traditional practices. Further, States parties should facilitate the establishment of multidisciplinary information and advice centres regarding the harmful aspects of some traditional practices, including early marriage and female genital mutilation.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- Additionally, adolescents experiencing poverty, armed conflicts, all forms of injustice, family breakdown, political, social and economic instability and all types of migration may be particularly vulnerable. These situations might seriously hamper their health and development. By investing heavily in preventive policies and measures States parties can drastically reduce levels of vulnerability and risk factors; they will also provide cost-effective ways for society to help adolescents develop harmoniously in a free society.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 39a
- Paragraph text
- [In exercising their obligations in relation to the health and development of adolescents, States parties shall always take fully into account the four general principles of the Convention. It is the view of the Committee that States parties must take all appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures for the realization and monitoring of the rights of adolescents to health and development as recognized in the Convention. To this end, States parties must notably fulfil the following obligations:] To create a safe and supportive environment for adolescents, including within their family, in schools, in all types of institutions in which they may live, within their workplace and/or in the society at large;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 39b
- Paragraph text
- [In exercising their obligations in relation to the health and development of adolescents, States parties shall always take fully into account the four general principles of the Convention. It is the view of the Committee that States parties must take all appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures for the realization and monitoring of the rights of adolescents to health and development as recognized in the Convention. To this end, States parties must notably fulfil the following obligations:] To ensure that adolescents have access to the information that is essential for their health and development and that they have opportunities to participate in decisions affecting their health (notably through informed consent and the right of confidentiality), to acquire life skills, to obtain adequate and age-appropriate information, and to make appropriate health behaviour choices;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
The right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health 2013, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- Family planning services should be situated within comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services and should encompass sexuality education, including counselling. They can be considered part of the continuum of services described in article 24, paragraph 2 (d), and should be designed to enable all couples and individuals to make sexual and reproductive decisions freely and responsibly, including the number, spacing and timing of their children, and to give them the information and means to do so. Attention should be given to ensuring confidential, universal access to goods and services for both married and unmarried female and male adolescents. States should ensure that adolescents are not deprived of any sexual and reproductive health information or services due to providers' conscientious objections.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Childhood, and early adolescence at the latest, are entry points for assisting both girls and boys and supporting them to change gender-based attitudes and adopt more positive roles and forms of behaviour in the home, at school and in wider society. This means facilitating discussions with them on social norms, attitudes and expectations that are associated with traditional femininity and masculinity and sex- and gender-linked stereotypical roles and working in partnership with them to support personal and social change aimed at eliminating gender inequality and promoting the importance of valuing education, especially girls' education, in the effort to eliminate harmful practices that specifically affect pre-adolescent and adolescent girls.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
The rights of children with disabilities 2007, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- The Committee notes that children with disabilities are, particularly during their adolescence, facing multiple challenges and risks in the area of establishing relationships with peers and reproductive health. Therefore, the Committee recommends that States parties provide adolescents with disabilities with adequate, and where appropriate, disability specific information, guidance and counselling and fully take into account the Committee's general comments No. 3 (2003) on HIV/AIDS and the rights of the child and No. 4 (2003) on adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
Indigenous children and their rights under the Convention 2009, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- Regarding adolescent health, States parties should consider specific strategies in order to provide indigenous adolescents with access to sexual and reproductive information and services, including on family planning and contraceptives, the dangers of early pregnancy, the prevention of HIV/AIDS and the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The Committee recommends States parties to take into account its general comments No. 3 on HIV/AIDS and the rights of the child (2003) and No. 4 on adolescent health (2003) for this purpose.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- The Committee recommends that States adopt a transitional approach towards achieving a balance between the positive role of work in adolescents' lives while ensuring their right to compulsory education, without discrimination. Schooling and the introduction to decent work should be coordinated to facilitate both in the lives of adolescents, according to their age and the effective mechanisms introduced to regulate such work, and give redress when adolescents are the victims of exploitation. The protection from hazardous work of all children under 18 years of age should be stipulated, with a clear list of specific harmful work. Efforts directed at preventing harmful work and working conditions should be made as a matter of priority, paying special attention to girls involved in domestic labour and other often "invisible" workers.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- The Committee has previously highlighted the widespread prejudice, exclusion, social isolation and discrimination faced by many children with disabilities. Adolescents with disabilities are, in many States, commonly excluded from opportunities available to other adolescents. They can be barred from participating in social, cultural and religious rites of passage. Significant numbers are denied access to secondary or tertiary education or vocational training, and consequent acquisition of the social, educational and economic skills necessary for future employment and freedom from poverty. They are widely denied access to sexual and reproductive health information and services and may be subjected to forced sterilization or contraception, which is in direct violation of their rights and can amount to torture or ill-treatment. Adolescents with disabilities are disproportionately vulnerable to physical and sexual violence, as well as child or forced marriage, and are routinely denied access to justice or redress.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- States parties should introduce measures to overcome such barriers, guarantee equal respect for the rights of adolescents with disabilities, promote their full inclusion and facilitate effective transitions from adolescence to adulthood, consistent with article 23 of the Convention and the recommendations in general comment No. 9 (2006) on the rights of children with disabilities. Adolescents with disabilities should, in addition, be provided with opportunities for supported decision-making in order to facilitate their active participation in all matters concerning them.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- States should guarantee that adolescents' right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly in all its forms is fully respected, consistent with the restrictions delineated in article 15 (2) of the Convention, including through the provision of safe spaces for both girls and boys. Legal recognition should be afforded to adolescents to establish their own associations, clubs, organizations, parliaments and forums, both in and out of school, form online networks, join political parties and join or form their own trade unions. Measures should also be introduced to protect adolescent human rights defenders, particularly girls, who often face gender-specific threats and violence.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- The Committee refers States parties to the recommendations in general comments No. 13 (2011) on the right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence and No. 18 (2014) on harmful practices for comprehensive legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to bring an end to all forms of violence, including a legal prohibition on corporal punishment in all settings, and to transform and bring an end to all harmful practices. States parties need to create more opportunities for scaling up institutional programmes on prevention and rehabilitation, and the social reintegration of adolescent victims. The Committee highlights the need to involve adolescents in the development of prevention strategies and protective responses to victims of violence.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 37d
- Paragraph text
- [In accordance with general comments No. 5 (2003) on general measures of implementation of the Convention (arts. 4, 42 and 44, para. 6) and No. 19 (2016) on public budgeting for the realization of children's rights (art. 4), the Committee draws attention to States parties' obligations to implement the following measures to establish the framework for the realization of the rights of children during adolescence. The experience and perspectives of adolescents themselves should be fully recognized and taken seriously in the development of all such measures, including:] Transparent budgetary commitments to ensure that adolescents are duly considered when balancing competing spending priorities and complying with the principles of sufficiency, effectiveness, efficiency and equality;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 37e
- Paragraph text
- [In accordance with general comments No. 5 (2003) on general measures of implementation of the Convention (arts. 4, 42 and 44, para. 6) and No. 19 (2016) on public budgeting for the realization of children's rights (art. 4), the Committee draws attention to States parties' obligations to implement the following measures to establish the framework for the realization of the rights of children during adolescence. The experience and perspectives of adolescents themselves should be fully recognized and taken seriously in the development of all such measures, including:] Training for all professionals working with and for adolescents on the Convention and its associated obligations, with a focus on the competencies needed to work with adolescents in accordance with their evolving capacities;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- Guaranteeing the right to universal, quality and inclusive education and training is the single most important policy investment that States can make to ensure the immediate and long-term development of adolescents, and a growing body of evidence testifies to the positive impact of secondary education in particular. States are encouraged to introduce widely available secondary education for all as a matter of urgency and to make higher education accessible to all on the basis of capacity by every appropriate means.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 41a
- Paragraph text
- [In accordance with articles 24, 39 and other related provisions of the Convention, States parties should provide health services that are sensitive to the particular needs and human rights of all adolescents, paying attention to the following characteristics:] Availability. Primary health care should include services sensitive to the needs of adolescents, with special attention given to sexual and reproductive health and mental health;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- A multisectoral approach to the promotion and protection of adolescent health and development will not be effective without international cooperation. Therefore, States parties should, when appropriate, seek such cooperation with United Nations specialized agencies, programmes and bodies, international NGOs and bilateral aid agencies, international professional associations and other non-State actors.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- States should review or introduce legislation recognizing the right of adolescents to take increasing responsibility for decisions affecting their lives. The Committee recommends that States introduce minimum legal age limits, consistent with the right to protection, the best interests principle and respect for the evolving capacities of adolescents. For example, age limits should recognize the right to make decisions in respect of health services or treatment, consent to adoption, change of name or applications to family courts. In all cases, the right of any child below that minimum age and able to demonstrate sufficient understanding to be entitled to give or refuse consent should be recognized. The voluntary and informed consent of the adolescent should be obtained whether or not the consent of a parent or guardian is required for any medical treatment or procedure. Consideration should also be given to the introduction of a legal presumption that adolescents are competent to seek and have access to preventive or time-sensitive sexual and reproductive health commodities and services. The Committee emphasizes that all adolescents have the right to have access to confidential medical counselling and advice without the consent of a parent or guardian, irrespective of age, if they so wish. This is distinct from the right to give medical consent and should not be subject to any age limit.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Adolescence is a period characterized by rapid physical, cognitive and social changes, including sexual and reproductive maturation; the gradual building up of the capacity to assume adult behaviours and roles involving new responsibilities requiring new knowledge and skills. While adolescents are in general a healthy population group, adolescence also poses new challenges to health and development owing to their relative vulnerability and pressure from society, including peers, to adopt risky health behaviour. These challenges include developing an individual identity and dealing with one's sexuality. The dynamic transition period to adulthood is also generally a period of positive changes, prompted by the significant capacity of adolescents to learn rapidly, to experience new and diverse situations, to develop and use critical thinking, to familiarize themselves with freedom, to be creative and to socialize.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- In most countries accidental injuries or injuries due to violence are a leading cause of death or permanent disability among adolescents. In that respect, the Committee is concerned about the injuries and death resulting from road traffic accidents, which affect adolescents disproportionately. States parties should adopt and enforce legislation and programmes to improve road safety, including driving education for and examination of adolescents and the adoption or strengthening of legislation known to be highly effective such as the obligations to have a valid driver's licence, wear seat belts and crash helmets, and the designation of pedestrian areas.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 39e
- Paragraph text
- [In exercising their obligations in relation to the health and development of adolescents, States parties shall always take fully into account the four general principles of the Convention. It is the view of the Committee that States parties must take all appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures for the realization and monitoring of the rights of adolescents to health and development as recognized in the Convention. To this end, States parties must notably fulfil the following obligations:] To protect adolescents from all forms of labour which may jeopardize the enjoyment of their rights, notably by abolishing all forms of child labour and by regulating the working environment and conditions in accordance with international standards;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Adolescents, both girls and boys, are at risk of being infected with and affected by STDs, including HIV/AIDS. States should ensure that appropriate goods, services and information for the prevention and treatment of STDs, including HIV/AIDS, are available and accessible. To this end, States parties are urged (a) to develop effective prevention programmes, including measures aimed at changing cultural views about adolescents' need for contraception and STD prevention and addressing cultural and other taboos surrounding adolescent sexuality; (b) to adopt legislation to combat practices that either increase adolescents' risk of infection or contribute to the marginalization of adolescents who are already infected with STDs, including HIV; (c) to take measures to remove all barriers hindering the access of adolescents to information, preventive measures such as condoms, and care.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- With regard to privacy and confidentiality, and the related issue of informed consent to treatment, States parties should (a) enact laws or regulations to ensure that confidential advice concerning treatment is provided to adolescents so that they can give their informed consent. Such laws or regulations should stipulate an age for this process, or refer to the evolving capacity of the child; and (b) provide training for health personnel on the rights of adolescents to privacy and confidentiality, to be informed about planned treatment and to give their informed consent to treatment.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- In ensuring respect for the right of adolescents to health and development, both individual behaviours and environmental factors which increase their vulnerability and risk should be taken into consideration. Environmental factors, such as armed conflict or social exclusion, increase the vulnerability of adolescents to abuse, other forms of violence and exploitation, thereby severely limiting adolescents' abilities to make individual, healthy behaviour choices. For example, the decision to engage in unsafe sex increases adolescents' risk of ill health.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- In accordance with article 23 of the Convention, adolescents with mental and/or physical disabilities have an equal right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. States parties have an obligation to provide adolescents with disabilities with the means necessary to realize their rights. States parties should (a) ensure that health facilities, goods and services are available and accessible to all adolescents with disabilities and that these facilities and services promote their self-reliance and their active participation in the community; (b) ensure that the necessary equipment and personal support are available to enable them to move around, participate and communicate; (c) pay specific attention to the special needs relating to the sexuality of adolescents with disabilities; and (d) remove barriers that hinder adolescents with disabilities in realizing their rights.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- States parties should, where feasible, adopt a multisectoral approach to the promotion and protection of adolescent health and development by facilitating effective and sustainable linkages and partnerships among all relevant actors. At the national level, such an approach calls for close and systematic collaboration and coordination within Government, so as to ensure the necessary involvement of all relevant government entities. Public health and other services utilized by adolescents should also be encouraged and assisted in seeking collaboration with, inter alia, private and/or traditional practitioners, professional associations, pharmacies and organizations that provide services to vulnerable groups of adolescents.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
HIV/AIDS and the rights of the children 2003, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Initially children were considered to be only marginally affected by the epidemic. However, the international community has discovered that, unfortunately, children are at the heart of the problem. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the most recent trends are alarming: in most parts of the world the majority of new infections are among young people between the ages of 15 and 24, sometimes younger. Women, including young girls, are also increasingly becoming infected. In most regions of the world, the vast majority of infected women do not know that they are infected and may unknowingly infect their children. Consequently, many States have recently registered an increase in their infant and child mortality rates. Adolescents are also vulnerable to HIV/AIDS because their first sexual experience may take place in an environment in which they have no access to proper information and guidance. Children who use drugs are at high risk.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph
HIV/AIDS and the rights of the children 2003, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Children have the right not to have their lives arbitrarily taken, as well as to benefit from economic and social policies that will allow them to survive into adulthood and develop in the broadest sense of the word. State obligation to realize the right to life, survival and development also highlights the need to give careful attention to sexuality as well as to the behaviours and lifestyles of children, even if they do not conform with what society determines to be acceptable under prevailing cultural norms for a particular age group. In this regard, the female child is often subject to harmful traditional practices, such as early and/or forced marriage, which violate her rights and make her more vulnerable to HIV infection, including because such practices often interrupt access to education and information. Effective prevention programmes are only those that acknowledge the realities of the lives of adolescents, while addressing sexuality by ensuring equal access to appropriate information, life skills, and to preventive measures.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Year
- 2003
Paragraph