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Title | Date added | Template | Original document | Paragraph text | Body | Document type | Thematics | Topic(s) | Person(s) affected | Year |
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Persons with Disabilities 1994, para. 35 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | School programmes in many countries today recognize that persons with disabilities can best be educated within the general education system. Thus the Standard Rules provide that "States should recognize the principle of equal primary, secondary and tertiary educational opportunities for children, youth and adults with disabilities, in integrated settings". In order to implement such an approach, States should ensure that teachers are trained to educate children with disabilities within regular schools and that the necessary equipment and support are available to bring persons with disabilities up to the same level of education as their non disabled peers. In the case of deaf children, for example, sign language should be recognized as a separate language to which the children should have access and whose importance should be acknowledged in their overall social environment. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 1994 | ||
Implementing child rights in early childhood 2006, para. 36i | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Deviant behaviour and lawbreaking (art. 40). Under no circumstances should young children (defined as under 8 years old; see paragraph 4) be included in legal definitions of minimum age of criminal responsibility. Young children who misbehave or violate laws require sympathetic help and understanding, with the goal of increasing their capacities for personal control, social empathy and conflict resolution. States parties should ensure that parents/caregivers are provided adequate support and training to fulfil their responsibilities (art. 18) and that young children have access to quality early childhood education and care, and (where appropriate) specialist guidance/therapies. | Committee on the Rights of the Child | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2006 | ||
Implementing child rights in early childhood 2006, para. 38 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Resource allocation for early childhood. In order to ensure that young children's rights are fully realized during this crucial phase of their lives (and bearing in mind the impact of early childhood experiences on their long term prospects), States parties are urged to adopt comprehensive, strategic and time bound plans for early childhood within a rights based framework. This requires an increase in human and financial resource allocations for early childhood services and programmes (art. 4). The Committee acknowledges that States parties implementing child rights in early childhood do so from very different starting points, in terms of existing infrastructures for early childhood policies, services and professional training, as well as levels of resources potentially available to allocate to early childhood. The Committee also acknowledges that States parties may be faced with competing priorities to implement rights throughout childhood, for example where universal health services and primary education have still not been achieved. It is nonetheless important that there be sufficient public investment in services, infrastructure and overall resources specifically allocated to early childhood, for the many reasons set out in this general comment. In this connection, States parties are encouraged to develop strong and equitable partnerships between the Government, public services, non governmental organizations, the private sector and families to finance comprehensive services in support of young children's rights. Finally, the Committee emphasizes that where services are decentralized, this should not be to the disadvantage of young children. | Committee on the Rights of the Child | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2006 | ||
Implementing child rights in early childhood 2006, para. 41 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Training for rights in early childhood. Knowledge and expertise about early childhood are not static but change over time. This is due variously to social trends impacting on the lives of young children, their parents and other caregivers, changing policies and priorities for their care and education, innovations in childcare, curricula and pedagogy, as well as the emergence of new research. Implementing child rights in early childhood sets challenges for all those responsible for children, as well as for children themselves as they gain an understanding of their role in their families, schools and communities. States parties are encouraged to undertake systematic child rights training for children and their parents, as well as for all professionals working for and with children, in particular parliamentarians, judges, magistrates, lawyers, law enforcement officials, civil servants, personnel in institutions and places of detention for children, teachers, health personnel, social workers and local leaders. Furthermore, the Committee urges States parties to conduct awareness raising campaigns for the public at large. | Committee on the Rights of the Child | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2006 | ||
The right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel and degrading forms of punishment 2006, para. 52 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The Committee also underlines in general comment No. 5 the importance of independent monitoring of implementation by, for example, parliamentary committees, NGOs, academic institutions, professional associations, youth groups and independent human rights institutions (see also the Committee's general comment No. 2 on "The role of independent national human rights institutions in the protection and promotion of the rights of the child"). These could all play an important role in monitoring the realization of children's right to protection from all corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment. | Committee on the Rights of the Child | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2006 | ||
Children’s rights in juvenile justice 2007, para. 8 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | It is quite common that criminal codes contain provisions criminalizing behavioural problems of children, such as vagrancy, truancy, runaways and other acts, which often are the result of psychological or socio-economic problems. It is particularly a matter of concern that girls and street children are often victims of this criminalization. These acts, also known as Status Offences, are not considered to be such if committed by adults. The Committee recommends that the States parties abolish the provisions on status offences in order to establish an equal treatment under the law for children and adults. In this regard, the Committee also refers to article 56 of the Riyadh Guidelines which reads: "In order to prevent further stigmatization, victimization and criminalization of young persons, legislation should be enacted to ensure that any conduct not considered an offence or not penalized if committed by an adult is not considered an offence and not penalized if committed by a young person." | Committee on the Rights of the Child | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2007 | ||
The right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health 2013, para. 9 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Gender-based discrimination is particularly pervasive, affecting a wide range of outcomes, from female infanticide/foeticide to discriminatory infant and young child feeding practices, gender stereotyping and access to services. Attention should be given to the differing needs of girls and boys, and the impact of gender-related social norms and values on the health and development of boys and girls. Attention also needs to be given to harmful gender-based practices and norms of behaviour that are ingrained in traditions and customs and undermine the right to health of girls and boys. | Committee on the Rights of the Child | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2013 | ||
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 11 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Women migrant workers may face sex- and gender-based discrimination, including compulsory HIV and AIDS testing for women returnees, moral "rehabilitation" for young women returnees and increased personal and social costs compared to men, without adequate gender-responsive services. For example, men may return to a stable family situation, whereas women may find disintegration of the family upon their return, with their absence from home regarded as the cause of such disintegration. There may also be a lack of protection against reprisals from exploitative recruiting agents. | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2008 | ||
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 21 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In some contexts, children are betrothed or married very young and, in many cases, young girls are forced to marry a man who may be decades older. In 2012, the United Nations Children's Fund reported that almost 400 million women between 20 and 49 years of age around the world had been married or had entered into a union before reaching 18 years of age. The Committees have therefore been paying particular attention to cases in which girls have been married against their full, free and informed consent, such as when they have been married too young to be physically and psychologically ready for adult life or to make conscious and informed decisions and thus not ready to consent to marriage. Other examples include cases in which guardians have the legal authority to consent to marriage of girls in accordance with customary or statutory law and in which girls are thus married contrary to the right to freely enter into marriage. | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2014 | ||
Forced evictions 1997, para. 10 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Women, children, youth, older persons, indigenous people, ethnic and other minorities, and other vulnerable individuals and groups all suffer disproportionately from the practice of forced eviction. Women in all groups are especially vulnerable given the extent of statutory and other forms of discrimination which often apply in relation to property rights (including home ownership) or rights of access to property or accommodation, and their particular vulnerability to acts of violence and sexual abuse when they are rendered homeless. The non discrimination provisions of articles 2.2 and 3 of the Covenant impose an additional obligation upon Governments to ensure that, where evictions do occur, appropriate measures are taken to ensure that no form of discrimination is involved. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 1997 | ||
The right to adequate food (Art. 11) 1999, para. 30 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Appropriate United Nations programmes and agencies should assist, upon request, in drafting the framework legislation and in reviewing the sectoral legislation. FAO, for example, has considerable expertise and accumulated knowledge concerning legislation in the field of food and agriculture. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has equivalent expertise concerning legislation with regard to the right to adequate food for infants and young children through maternal and child protection including legislation to enable breastfeeding, and with regard to the regulation of marketing of breast milk substitutes. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 1999 | ||
The right to education (Art. 13) 1999, para. 16e | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | [An introduction to technology and to the world of work should not be confined to specific TVE programmes but should be understood as a component of general education. According to the UNESCO Convention on Technical and Vocational Education (1989), TVE consists of "all forms and levels of the educational process involving, in addition to general knowledge, the study of technologies and related sciences and the acquisition of practical skills, know-how, attitudes and understanding relating to occupations in the various sectors of economic and social life" (art. 1 (a)). This view is also reflected in certain ILO Conventions. Understood in this way, the right to TVE includes the following aspects:] It consists, in the context of the Covenant's non discrimination and equality provisions, of programmes which promote the TVE of women, girls, out of school youth, unemployed youth, the children of migrant workers, refugees, persons with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 1999 | ||
The right to the highest attainable standard of health (Art. 12) 2000, para. 23 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | States parties should provide a safe and supportive environment for adolescents, that ensures the opportunity to participate in decisions affecting their health, to build life-skills, to acquire appropriate information, to receive counselling and to negotiate the health-behaviour choices they make. The realization of the right to health of adolescents is dependent on the development of youth-friendly health care, which respects confidentiality and privacy and includes appropriate sexual and reproductive health services. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2000 | ||
The right to work (Art. 6) 2005, para. 15 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The protection of children is covered by article 10 of the Covenant. The Committee recalls its general comment No. 14 (2000) and in particular paragraphs 22 and 23 on children's right to health, and emphasizes the need to protect children from all forms of work that are likely to interfere with their development or physical or mental health. The Committee reaffirms the need to protect children from economic exploitation, to enable them to pursue their full development and acquire technical and vocational education as indicated in article 6, paragraph 2. The Committee also recalls its general comment No. 13 (1999), in particular the definition of technical and vocational education (paras. 15 and 16) as a component of general education. Several international human rights instruments adopted after the ICESCR, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, expressly recognize the need to protect children and young people against any form of economic exploitation or forced labour. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2005 | ||
The right to work (Art. 6) 2005, para. 23 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | States parties are under the obligation to respect the right to work by, inter alia, prohibiting forced or compulsory labour and refraining from denying or limiting equal access to decent work for all persons, especially disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups, including prisoners or detainees, members of minorities and migrant workers. In particular, States parties are bound by the obligation to respect the right of women and young persons to have access to decent work and thus to take measures to combat discrimination and to promote equal access and opportunities. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2005 | ||
The right to work (Art. 6) 2005, para. 30 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | To comply with their international obligations in relation to article 6, States parties should endeavour to promote the right to work in other countries as well as in bilateral and multilateral negotiations. In negotiations with international financial institutions, States parties should ensure protection of the right to work of their population. States parties that are members of international financial institutions, in particular the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and regional development banks, should pay greater attention to the protection of the right to work in influencing the lending policies, credit agreements, structural adjustment programmes and international measures of these institutions. The strategies, programmes and policies adopted by States parties under structural adjustment programmes should not interfere with their core obligations in relation to the right to work and impact negatively on the right to work of women, young persons and the disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2005 | ||
Non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights (Art. 2, para. 2) 2009, para. 26 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Discrimination based on birth is prohibited and article 10, paragraph 3, of the Covenant specifically states, for example, that special measures should be taken on behalf of children and young persons "without any discrimination for reasons of parentage". Distinctions must therefore not be made against those who are born out of wedlock, born of stateless parents or are adopted or constitute the families of such persons. The prohibited ground of birth also includes descent, especially on the basis of caste and analogous systems of inherited status. States parties should take steps, for instance, to prevent, prohibit and eliminate discriminatory practices directed against members of descent-based communities and act against the dissemination of ideas of superiority and inferiority on the basis of descent. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2009 | ||
Non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights (Art. 2, para. 2) 2009, para. 29 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Age is a prohibited ground of discrimination in several contexts. The Committee has highlighted the need to address discrimination against unemployed older persons in finding work, or accessing professional training or retraining, and against older persons living in poverty with unequal access to universal old-age pensions due to their place of residence. In relation to young persons, unequal access by adolescents to sexual and reproductive health information and services amounts to discrimination. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2009 | ||
Non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights (Art. 2, para. 2) 2009, para. 4 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The Covenant also explicitly mentions the principles of non-discrimination and equality with respect to some individual rights. Article 3 requires States to undertake to ensure the equal right of men and women to enjoy the Covenant rights and article 7 includes the "right to equal remuneration for work of equal value" and "equal opportunity for everyone to be promoted" in employment. Article 10 stipulates that, inter alia, mothers should be accorded special protection during a reasonable period before and after childbirth and that special measures of protection and assistance should be taken for children and young persons without discrimination. Article 13 recognizes that "primary education shall be compulsory and available free to all" and provides that "higher education shall be made equally accessible to all". | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2009 | ||
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 29 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The Committee therefore urges States parties to take account of the recommendations contained in the United Nations Principles for Older Persons, and in particular of principle 7, that older persons should remain integrated in society, participate actively in the formulation and implementation of policies that directly affect their well being and share their knowledge and skills with younger generations; and principle 16, that older persons should have access to the educational, cultural, spiritual and recreational resources of society. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2009 | ||
The right to just and favourable conditions of work (Art. 7) 2016, para. 5 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The right to just and favourable conditions of work is a right of everyone, without distinction of any kind. The reference to "everyone" highlights the fact that the right applies to all workers in all settings, regardless of gender, as well as young and older workers, workers with disabilities, workers in the informal sector, migrant workers, workers from ethnic and other minorities, domestic workers, self-employed workers, agricultural workers, refugee workers and unpaid workers. The reference to "everyone" reinforces the general prohibition on discrimination in article 2 (2) and the equality provision in article 3 of the Covenant, and is supplemented by the various references to equality and freedom from distinctions of any kind in sub-articles 7 (a) (i) and (c). | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2016 | ||
The right to just and favourable conditions of work (Art. 7) 2016, para. 6 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Article 7 identifies a non-exhaustive list of fundamental elements to guarantee just and favourable conditions of work. The reference to the term "in particular" indicates that other elements, not explicitly referred to, are also relevant. In this context, the Committee has systematically underlined factors such as the following: prohibition of forced labour and social and economic exploitation of children and young persons; freedom from violence and harassment, including sexual harassment; and paid maternity, paternity and parental leave. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2016 | ||
The right to sexual and reproductive health (Art. 12) 2016, para. 18 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Information accessibility includes the right to seek, receive and disseminate information and ideas concerning sexual and reproductive health issues generally, and also for individuals to receive specific information on their particular health status. All individuals and groups, including adolescents and youth, have the right to evidence-based information on all aspects of sexual and reproductive health, including maternal health, contraceptives, family planning, sexually transmitted infections, HIV prevention, safe abortion and post abortion care, infertility and fertility options, and reproductive cancer. | Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2016 | ||
The aims of education 2001, para. 22 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The Committee calls upon States parties to devote more attention to education as a dynamic process and to devising means by which to measure changes over time in relation to article 29 (1). Every child has the right to receive an education of good quality which in turn requires a focus on the quality of the learning environment, of teaching and learning processes and materials, and of learning outputs. The Committee notes the importance of surveys that may provide an opportunity to assess the progress made, based upon consideration of the views of all actors involved in the process, including children currently in or out of school, teachers and youth leaders, parents, and educational administrators and supervisors. In this respect, the Committee emphasizes the role of national-level monitoring which seeks to ensure that children, parents and teachers can have an input in decisions relevant to education. | Committee on the Rights of the Child | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2001 | ||
The Role of Independent National Human Rights Institutions in the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of the Child 2002, para. 12 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | NHRIs should ensure that their composition includes pluralistic representation of the various elements of civil society involved in the promotion and protection of human rights. They should seek to involve, among others, the following: human rights, anti-discrimination and children's rights non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including child- and youth-led organizations; trade unions; social and professional organizations (of doctors, lawyers, journalists, scientists, etc.); universities and experts, including children's rights experts. Government departments should be involved in an advisory capacity only. NHRIs should have appropriate and transparent appointment procedures, including an open and competitive selection process. | Committee on the Rights of the Child | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2002 | ||
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 27 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In order to act adequately on the information, adolescents need to develop the skills necessary, including self-care skills, such as how to plan and prepare nutritionally balanced meals and proper personal hygiene habits, and skills for dealing with particular social situations such as interpersonal communication, decision-making, and coping with stress and conflict. States parties should stimulate and support opportunities to build such skills through, inter alia, formal and informal education and training programmes, youth organizations and the media. | Committee on the Rights of the Child | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2003 | ||
The right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence 2011, para. 75a | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | [Resources needed at the international level. Investment is also needed in the following areas at the international level to assist States parties to fulfil their obligations in relation to article 19:] Human resources: improved communication, cooperation and individual exchange within and between professional associations (for example medical, mental health, social work, legal, education, child maltreatment, academic/research, child rights and training organizations/institutions); improved communication and cooperation within and between civil society groups (for example research communities, NGOs, child-led organizations, faith-based organizations, organizations of persons with disabilities, community and youth groups, and individual experts involved in the development and exchange of knowledge and practice); | Committee on the Rights of the Child | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2011 | ||
The right to inclusive education 2016, para. 40c | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | [Progressive realization does not prejudice those obligations that are immediately applicable. Drawing from CESCR's General Comment, States parties have "a minimum core obligation to ensure the satisfaction of, at the very least, minimum essential levels" of each of the features of the right to education. Therefore States parties should implement the following core rights with immediate effect:] Compulsory, free primary education available to all. States parties must take all appropriate measures to guarantee this right, on the basis of inclusion, to all children and youth with disabilities. The Committee urges States parties to "ensure access to and completion of quality education for all children and youth to at least 12 years of free, publicly funded, inclusive and equitable quality primary and secondary education, of which at least nine years are compulsory, as well as access to quality education for out-of- school children and youth through a range of modalities" as per the Education 2030 Framework for Action. | Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2016 | ||
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 40 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The Committee draws the attention of States parties to the general comment No. 14 on the right to the highest attainable standard of health of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which states that, "States parties should provide a safe and supportive environment for adolescents that ensures the opportunity to participate in decisions affecting their health, to build life skills, to acquire appropriate information, to receive counselling and to negotiate the health-behaviour choices they make. The realization of the right to health of adolescents is dependent on the development of youth-sensitive health care, which respects confidentiality and privacy and includes appropriate sexual and reproductive health services." | Committee on the Rights of the Child | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2003 | ||
General Measures of Implementation of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 18 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The Committee believes a comprehensive review of all domestic legislation and related administrative guidance to ensure full compliance with the Convention is an obligation. Its experience in examining not only initial but now second and third periodic reports under the Convention suggests that the review process at the national level has, in most cases, been started, but needs to be more rigorous. The review needs to consider the Convention not only article by article, but also holistically, recognizing the interdependence and indivisibility of human rights. The review needs to be continuous rather than one-off, reviewing proposed as well as existing legislation. And while it is important that this review process should be built into the machinery of all relevant government departments, it is also advantageous to have independent review by, for example, parliamentary committees and hearings, national human rights institutions, NGOs, academics, affected children and young people and others. | Committee on the Rights of the Child | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2003 |