Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) 35th Anniversary

The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (OPSC) entered into force on 18 January 2002 by resolution A/RES/54/263 at the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly. The agreement protects children from sale and sexual exploitation.

THE OPSC deals with three main forms of child violence:

1. Sale of Children
2. Child Prostituion
3. Child Pornography

Detailed information on the protocol can be found here:UN Treaty Collection: Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornograph

The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict aims to protect children from recruitment and use in hostilities.

The Protocol was adopted by the General Assembly on 25 May 2000 and entered into force on 12 February 2002.

The Optional protocol is a commitment that:

• States will not recruit children under the age of 18 to send them to the battlefield.
•  States will not conscript soldiers below the age of 18.
• States should take all possible measures to prevent such recruitment –including legislation to prohibit and criminalize the recruitment of children under 18 and involve them in hostilities.
• States will demobilize anyone under 18 conscripted or used in hostilities and will provide physical, psychological recovery services and help their social reintegration.
• Armed groups distinct from the armed forces of a country should not, under any circumstances, recruit or use in hostilities anyone under 18.

At present, 173 countries have ratified the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict. There are 17 Member States that have neither signed nor ratified the protocol and 7  that have signed but are yet to ratify. To see the list: click here.

On 25 May 2010,  the UN Secretary-General launched the “Global Campaign for the universal ratification and implementation of the Optional Protocols to the CRC”. In addition to OPAC, the campaign aimed to achieve universal ratification of the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (OPSC).

Zero under 18 Campaign

To further support this campaign, the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict launched the campaign Zero under 18, to achieve universal ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (OPAC). This campaign ended in 2012 and, along with outreach achieved through the Global Campaign, generated 21 new ratifications for the Optional Protocol.

For any questions regarding the ratification process, please contact the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.

Links & Resources:

• Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict
• OHCHR preamble/articles

The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedure under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, allows children or their representatives to submit complaints to the Committee on the Rights of Child about specific violations of their rights under the following convention and optional protocols:

• Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in Armed Conflict
• Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography

Children or the representatives can submit a complaint only if

• they have exhausted all the legal mechanisms in their own country,
• their country has ratified the Optional Protocol on a Communications Procedure.

The Protocol came into force on 14 April 2014, three months following the ratification of 10 countries of the Protocol in accordance with article 19(1). The current status of the protocol, including the number of state parties, can be found on the Status of Treaties tool available from the UN Treaties website.

The procedures for submitting a complaint can be found on the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Website on the page related to Human Rights Treaty Bodies - Individual Communications and in the fact sheet about the procedure from OHCHR.

For more information on the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Optional Protocols, see the entry for the convention in the Audiovisual Library of International Law. Here you can research the procedural history and view selected preparatory documents (travaux préparatoires) that lead to the agreement.