Recalling that at its second session in 1992 the Committee devoted one day to a general discussion on the topic "Children in armed conflict" at which the relevance and adequacy of existing standards were discussed,

Noting the similarity of the conclusions on the negative effects of armed conflicts on children reached by the expert of the Secretary-General in her 1996 study entitled "The impact of armed conflict on children" (A/51/306 and Add.1) and by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the impact of armed conflict on children,

Recalling that at its third session it prepared a preliminary draft optional protocol to the Convention of the Rights of the Child (E/CN.4/1994/91, annex) that it submitted to the Commission on Human Rights at its fiftieth session,

Having welcomed the subsequent decision of the Commission on Human Rights, as contained in its resolution 1994/91, to establish an open-ended inter-sessional working group to elaborate, as a matter of priority, a draft optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict,

Noting that the working group has met yearly since 1995 and that it was unable, at its fourth session held in February 1998, to reach agreement on a draft text which could be adopted by consensus,

Welcoming Commission resolution 1998/76 and the request to the Secretary-General to invite the Committee, inter alia, to submit comments and suggestions on the report of the working group,

Reiterating its growing alarm, upon its examination of a large number of reports of States parties on their implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, at the deeply tragic consequences of the involvement of children in armed conflict,

1. Expresses its concern at the delays experienced in the process of drafting and adopting the optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict;

2. Recalls that the function of optional protocols is to promote the progressive development of international law by enabling those States that are willing to adopt more demanding standards to do so;

3. Reaffirms its belief that this new legal instrument is urgently needed in order to strengthen the levels of protection ensured by the Convention;

4. Stresses the special responsibility of States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the search for the most protective solutions, guided by the best interests of the child;

5. Recalls its major recommendation on the fundamental importance of raising the age of all forms of recruitment of children into the armed forces to eighteen years and the prohibition of their involvement in hostilities;

6. Also recalls that adoption of the optional protocol will provide an opportunity for States parties that are in a position to do so, and them alone, to accept its provisions by ratification or adherence;

7. Expresses the hope that States that are not yet in a position to accept the eighteen-year age limit will not prevent the adoption of the optional protocol by other Governments;

8. Invites States parties to make every effort to facilitate the adoption of the optional protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict before the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

[1]CRC/C/80, 19th Session, September 1998.

Bearing in mind that the implementation of articles 37, 40 and 39 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child must be considered in conjunction with all the other provisions and principles of the Convention and should take into account other existing international standards, such as the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice ("The Beijing Rules"), adopted by the General Assembly by its resolution 40/33 of 29 November 1985, the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency ("The Riyadh Guidelines"), adopted and proclaimed by the Assembly by its resolution 45/112 of 14 December 1990, the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, adopted by the Assembly by resolution 45/113 of 14 December 1990, and the Guidelines for Action on Children in the Criminal Justice System, annexed to Economic and Social Council resolution 1997/30 of 21 July 1997,

Recalling that since the beginning of its work, the administration of juvenile justice has received consistent and systematic attention from the Committee in the form of concrete recommendations in the concluding observations adopted in relation to States parties' reports,

Noting that the experience of the Committee in its review of reports presented by States parties on their implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child has shown that in all regions of the world and in relation to all legal systems, the provisions of the Convention relating to the administration of juvenile justice are in many instances not reflected in national legislation or practice, giving cause for serious concern,

Recalling that at its tenth session in 1995 the Committee devoted one day to a general discussion on the administration of juvenile justice, emphasizing the implementation of existing international standards, and the need to strengthen international cooperation both within and outside the United Nations system (see CRC/C/46, paras 203-238),

Welcoming the establishment, as recommended in the Guidelines for Action on Children in the Criminal Justice System, of the Coordination Panel on technical advice and assistance in juvenile justice in order to facilitate the coordination of activities in this field undertaken by relevant entities of the United Nations system as well as non-governmental organizations, professional groups and academic societies involved in the provision of technical advice and assistance,

1. Calls upon States parties to give urgent attention to undertaking all appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures for the full implementation of the provisions of the Convention and existing international standards relating to the administration of juvenile justice;

2. Stresses the importance of identifying and understanding the legal, social, financial and other obstacles preventing the full implementation of the provisions of the Convention and existing international standards relating to the administration of juvenile justice and of designing ways and means to overcome these obstacles, including raising awareness and strengthening technical assistance;

3. Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to give priority to promoting the implementation of the provisions of the Convention and existing international standards relating to the administration of juvenile justice, to consider what steps might be taken to identify obstacles preventing their full implementation and to design ways and means to overcome these obstacles, including raising awareness and strengthening technical assistance, in cooperation with United Nations bodies and agencies, and other partners;

4. Suggests that the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in accordance with her mandate as the coordinator of the human rights promotion and protection activities throughout the United Nations system, as stated in General Assembly resolution 48/141 of 20 December 1993, encourage all appropriate United Nations bodies and agencies to enhance their work in the area of the administration of juvenile justice and to use the Convention on the Rights of the Child as their main tool to achieve this objective, and to facilitate their work in that regard;

5. Invites the High Commissioner to inform the Committee of progress made in the implementation of the present recommendation.

[2] CRC/C/90, 22nd Session, September 1999.

General Recommendation on the Methods of Work:

Exceptional Submission of Combined Reports [3]

The Committee on the Rights of the Child,

Stressing the crucial importance of periodic reporting by States parties in conformity with the obligations under article 44 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

"(a) within two years after the entry into force of the Convention for the State party concerned;
(b) Thereafter every five years",

Noting that many States parties have yet to submit their second periodic report under the Convention,

Acknowledging that at the time of the dialogue with the Committee States parties have up-dated the information they provided in their initial report in the written replies submitted to the list of issues,

Expressing the need to support States parties in an effort to ensure compliance with the strict timeframe established by the Convention (article 44.1.),

1. Decides to inform States parties in the related concluding observations adopted by the Committee about the deadline for the submission of their second and, where appropriate, following periodic reports;

2. Therefore, decides to apply the following rules:

i) when the second periodic report is due within a year after the dialogue with the Committee, the State party shall be requested to submit that report combined with the third one. This rule also applies (mutatis mutandis) when a similar situation occurs with the third and fourth periodic reports.

ii) when the second periodic report is already due at the time of the dialogue and the third report is due 2 years or more after the dialogue with the State party, the State party shall be requested to submit the combined second and third reports at the time when the third report is due as prescribed under the terms of the Convention. This rule also applies (mutatis mutandis) in cases when the second and third reports are due at the time of the dialogue.

3. Stresses that these rules apply only on the basis of an exceptional measure taken for one time only by State party in an attempt to provide an opportunity for them to respect the strict reporting periodicity foreseen in the Convention (article 44.1).

[3] CRC/C/114, 29^th Session, January 2002.

General Recommendation on the Organization of Work:

Content and size of State reports [4]

The Committee on the Rights of the Child,

Noting with appreciation the exceptionally high number of States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (191) and the rapid pace of ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (33), and the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict (33).

Welcoming the relatively high reporting rate for initial reports by State parties under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (167 out of 191),

Stressing the generally satisfactory quality of initial and periodic reports, as well as written responses to the list of issues, submitted by States parties under the Convention on the Rights of the Child,

Concerned by the workload of the Committee, including the forthcoming challenge generated by new reporting obligations under the two Optional Protocols,

Especially concerned by the excessive length of some periodic reports submitted under the Convention,

1. Decides to review in the near future its guidelines for periodic reporting (CRC/C/58) in order to encourage States parties not to submit overly lengthy periodic reports;

2. Requests all States parties to the Convention to submit periodic reports that are concise, analytical and focusing on key implementation issues, and the length of which will not exceed 120 regular size pages;

3. Also requests all States parties to focus their periodic reports under the Convention in particular on two aspects of implementation aimed at:

a) in light of article 44 of the Convention, informing the Committee on progress made on the enjoyment of human rights by children, factors and difficulties affecting the degree of fulfillment of obligations under the Convention, and measures taken to implement the Committee’s concluding observations – by explicitly referring them - adopted with respect to the previous State party report and the ensuing dialogue;

b) informing the Committee on fundamental developments in the State party during the reporting period with regard to the human rights of children. In this regard, States parties should avoid repeating information already contained in previous reports submitted to the Committee, in light of article 44.3.

4. Recommends that, in addition to information on legislative developments and the situation de jure, States parties give due attention in their periodic reports to analysing the situation in the State party de facto, including information on concrete measures taken to enhance the implementation of domestic and international legal provisions and principles and, if any, related limitations and obstacles.

[4] CRC/C/118, 30^th Session, May 2002.

General Recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child

Welcoming the relatively high reporting rate for initial reports by State parties under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (167 out of 191),

Stressing the generally satisfactory quality of initial and periodic reports, as well as written responses to the list of issues, submitted by States parties under the Convention on the Rights of the Child,