Independent Human Rights Institutions for Children and the Committee on the Rights of the Child Reporting Process

The Committee on the Rights of the Child has been one of the main instigators for the development of independent human rights institutions for the promotion and protection of children‟s rights. Relying on article 4 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, it adopted a general comment on this issue in 2002, and now consistently encourages State parties to establish or strengthen such institutions in its concluding observations. Efforts have been made recently with human rights treaty bodies to enhance the involvement of independent institutions at each stage of the reporting process. For independent institutions specifically in charge of monitoring children‟s rights, this implies an important contribution to the work of the Committee. Their status of independence from their government in the reporting process has been emphasized and some institutions submit a separate report to the Committee. Importantly, institutions have a critical role to play in the follow-up and monitoring of the implementation of the concluding observations of the Committee. Finally, there are other instances where independent institutions can interact with the Committee, beyond the reporting process. These include days of general discussion, the drafting of general comments, and support to campaigns such as the campaign for a CRC complaints mechanism. In conclusion, both the Committee and independent institutions can significantly build on each other to strengthen their capacity to promote the realization of children‟s rights.