Committee on the Rights of the Child Holds Seventeenth Informal Meeting with States
The Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon held its seventeenth informal meeting with States, marking the Committee’s jubilee one hundredth session and discussing topics related to the Committee’s communications and inquiry procedures, general comments, its work on artificial intelligence and children’s rights, and the liquidity crisis facing the treaty body system, among other topics.
Sophie Kiladze, Committee Chair, said in opening remarks that over 35 years, 100 sessions, and thousands of recommendations, the Committee had contributed to meaningful and systemic change. Across regions and legal traditions, States parties had reformed laws, policies and institutions based on the constructive guidance of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. These achievements demonstrated the power of sustained dialogue, accountability, and cooperation grounded in the Convention and its Optional Protocols.
Yet, this jubilee moment could not be one of celebration alone, Ms. Kiladze said. Across every region, without exception, there were grave and widespread violations of children’s rights, and the Committee’s critical work was being seriously undermined by the liquidity crisis affecting the entire United Nations system. Due to the crisis, the Committee held only two of the three sessions scheduled for 2025 and was able to review just 15 reports since the last meeting with States. Ms. Kiladze appealed to all States parties to fulfil their financial obligations to the United Nations.
Concluding her statement, Ms. Kiladze said the one hundredth session needed to be marked with renewed commitment to protect the achievements of the past, to confront the challenges of the present, and to ensure a future in which every child, everywhere, could enjoy their rights fully and without delay.
Also providing opening statements were Committee Experts Hynd Ayoubi Idrissi, Rosaria Correa, and Benoit Van Keirsbilck.
Spain, Georgia, United Kingdom, Egypt, Finland, Russian Federation, Pakistan, Dominican Republic, Holy See, and the State of Palestine participated in the discussion.
Documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, are available on the session’s webpage. Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found here, while webcasts of the public meetings can be found here.
The Committee will next meet in public on Friday, 30 January at 5 p.m. to adopt its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Colombia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan and Spain, which were reviewed during the session, and publicly close the one hundredth session.
Opening Statements by Committee Experts
SOPHIE KILADZE, Committee Chair, said that in January 2026, the Committee was marking a truly important occasion - the jubilee one hundredth session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. Over 35 years, 100 sessions, and thousands of recommendations, the Committee had contributed to meaningful and systemic change. Across regions and legal traditions, States parties had reformed laws, policies and institutions based on the constructive guidance of the Convention. Children had gained stronger protection from violence, better access to education and health care, greater inclusion of those most marginalised, and improved access to justice. Just as importantly, the Committee had helped shift mindsets - recognising children not as passive objects of protection, but as full holders of rights whose views mattered. These achievements demonstrated the power of sustained dialogue, accountability, and cooperation grounded in the Convention and its Optional Protocols.
Yet, this jubilee moment could not be one of celebration alone. Today, the reality facing millions of children was deeply troubling. One of the gravest and most urgent concerns confronting the Committee today was the situation of children affected by armed conflict. In conflicts across the world, children were being killed, injured, forcibly displaced, separated from their families, recruited or used by armed forces and groups, and denied access to education, health care, and humanitarian assistance. Schools and hospitals were increasingly becoming targets. The scale and intensity of these violations were beyond imagination and often accompanied by impunity.
Across every region, without exception, there were grave and widespread violations of children’s rights. Children were subjected to violence, sexual abuse, exploitation, and discrimination; and increasingly, children were exposed to new forms of harm in the digital environment, including those linked to artificial intelligence. Environmental degradation and climate change were disproportionately affecting children. The global human rights crisis had inevitably become a crisis of children’s rights. Hard-won progress was being rolled back. Civic space was shrinking. And global military and defence spending continued to rise, sending a deeply concerning signal about the priorities and that more children could suffer in the future.
In this context, the role of the Committee was not less relevant, but more. Yet, it was precisely at this critical moment that its work was being seriously undermined by the liquidity crisis affecting the entire United Nations system. The cancellation of the third session in September, the uncertainty faced by Committee members and the Secretariat, and the increasing resource constraints were not administrative inconveniences, but warning signs. There was no clarity as to how many sessions or visits were being planned this year, for what duration, and which countries would be reviewed. Confirmation of sessions and pre-sessions at the last moment made it difficult for States, members of the Committee and other stakeholders who had to come to Geneva for the session to organise themselves.
In this regard, the Committee sent letters to the Secretary-General and States parties on the current situation in June 2025. Every cancelled session delayed dialogue with States parties. Every postponed review meant delayed reforms. And every delay had a real and direct impact on children’s rights. Ms. Kiladze sincerely thanked all States parties that met their United Nations financial obligations fully and on time and appealed to all States parties to fulfil their obligations. This was not a technical issue.
In the same spirit, the Committee was increasingly concerned by the growing number of cancellations of dialogues by States parties, sometimes at the last minute. Cancellations weakened the process, reduced trust, and ultimately delayed progress for children. Ms. Kiladze expressed hope that States parties would continue to treat engagement with the Committee as an opportunity for meaningful exchange and shared problem-solving.
Since the last meeting on 30 January 2025, there were no new ratifications or accessions to the Convention or its first two Optional Protocols. The third Optional Protocol on a communications procedure recorded only one new ratification since last January. In 2025, the Committee received only one report under the first two Optional Protocols. Currently, 37 initial reports under the Optional Protocol on children in armed conflict and 47 under the Optional Protocol on the sale of children remained overdue. Due to the United Nations liquidity crisis, the Committee held only two of the three sessions scheduled for 2025 and was able to review just 15 reports since the last meeting. The pre-sessional working groups planned for May 2025 and January 2026 were also cancelled.
The backlog of reports pending review now stood at 56. To address this, the Committee had decided, on an exceptional basis, to adopt lists of issues between sessions. The backlog had delayed the full implementation of the simplified reporting procedure. States parties that did not opt out needed to wait for a list of issues prior to reporting before preparing their next report. Due to the backlog, the Committee only resumed adopting these lists between sessions late last year. The Committee was now resuming the adoption of lists of issues prior to reporting to allow States parties awaiting review to begin preparing their reports. However, owing to planning uncertainties, it was not yet in a position to share a reporting calendar beyond 2026.
At the Chairs meeting in June 2025 and the informal meeting of Chairs in December 2025, the Committee recommended exceptional measures to other Committees so that they could continue with the implementation of their mandates. Such measures included moving work that was done during and between sessions, working remotely, and using available technology. For example, the Committee had adopted lists of issues and lists of issues prior to reporting through a written online procedure. It would continue to work with other treaty bodies to strengthen, harmonise and coordinate efforts to ensure maximum effectivity for their mandates.
Despite the challenges, the Committee remained fully committed to responding to emerging realities and strengthening its own effectiveness. One example of this was its work on the rights of the child in the context of artificial intelligence. Together with the International Telecommunication Union, the United Nations Children's Fund, and 11 other United Nations entities, the Committee co-led the development of the joint statement on artificial intelligence and the rights of the child. Additionally, in close partnership with the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Committee continued to engage parliamentarians based on its joint statement on parliaments and the rights of the child.
Internally, the Committee was also taking steps to strengthen its own functioning. It was actively working on improving its rules of procedure, including with a view to greater harmonisation with other treaty bodies. This reflected its commitment to effectiveness, transparency, and consistency so that it could better serve States parties and, most importantly, children.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child was the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history. This near-universal commitment carried with it both pride and responsibility. Children did not experience rights in theory; they experienced them in classrooms, hospitals, families, online spaces, and communities. When systems failed, children felt the consequences first and most deeply. The Committee stood ready to continue its work with independence, expertise, and constructive engagement.
Ms. Kiladze thanked States for their continued positive efforts and for the tangible impact they had made on the lives of children. The one hundredth session needed to be marked with renewed commitment to protect the achievements of the past, to confront the challenges of the present, and to ensure a future in which every child, everywhere, could enjoy their rights fully and without delay.
HYND AYOUBI IDRISSI, Committee Expert, said that, since the entry into force of the third Optional Protocol to the Convention establishing an individual communications procedure, the Committee had received nearly 1,000 communications concerning violations of children's rights, registered 276 of these and adopted decisions on 179 cases, with 100 communications awaiting consideration. In 2025, the Committee registered 15 communications and adopted 16 decisions.
During the current one hundredth session, the Committee’s working group on communications examined 11 cases and adopted 10 decisions related to States’ follow-up. The Committee granted “A” grades (indicating a full response) in cases involving Denmark and Finland, and a “B” (indicating partial implementation) in another case involving Finland. For the remaining seven cases, the Committee decided to continue dialogue with concerned States parties. Ms. Idrissi thanked States parties for their collaboration with the mechanism, noting that around 95 per cent of the Committee’s decisions had been implemented. Through this redress mechanism, the Committee had helped ensure that hundreds of children were not separated from their parents, were protected from harmful practices, and were provided access to health services and education.
However, Ms. Idrissi said the mechanism was being undermined by the unprecedented liquidity crisis shaking the entire human rights system, because of which the working group was not able to meet for over a year, and the human resources of the petitions section had been reduced. The States parties that had enabled the establishment of this mechanism could support it by financing five junior professional officer positions in the petitions section. Currently, only Switzerland financed one of these five positions. Ms. Idrissi closed by thanking all States that had supported the communications mechanism and those that would support it in future.
ROSARIA CORREA, Committee Expert, addressing inquiries carried out under the third Optional Protocol, said that, to date, the Committee had received 27 requests for inquiries, of which 19 had been discontinued, in accordance with the established rules, either due to insufficient information or because another procedure, such as the communications procedure, was recommended. It was currently working on six cases, including four cases under discussion for which clarifying information had been requested from the State concerned; one case in which the Committee had ordered the opening of an inquiry, which was pending online meetings and an in-situ visit; and one case in which a country visit had been completed, and the corresponding report was being drafted for consideration by the plenary.
The Committee had also published three inquiry reports, which included the observations of the State concerned. Additionally, under article 14 of the Protocol, follow-up had been conducted on completed inquiries. In a case involving France, the Committee considered that the State’s response had been sufficient. The Working Group on Investigations would continue with regular follow-up procedures.
BENOIT VAN KEIRSBILCK, Committee Expert, said that the Committee was working on a draft general comment on the rights of the child to access justice and effective remedy. This process had been ongoing for two years. The Committee had developed a concept note, which was submitted for a first round of consultations with States parties, civil society, United Nations agencies and several groups of children, which provided rich contributions. Based on these consultations, a first draft of the general comment was prepared and approved.
This draft underwent a second round of consultations starting in May 2025, for which more than 150 valuable contributions had been received from various groups. These allowed the Committee to improve its first draft and adopt a series of points that needed to be addressed in the final version, which was currently being prepared. The final draft would be submitted to the plenary in the Committee’s next session. Once the plenary adopted this draft, the Committee would disseminate it, translate it into a child-friendly version, and make sure that all stakeholders could use it on the ground.
Statements and Questions by States Parties
In the ensuing discussion, speakers representing States parties, among other things, congratulated the Committee on its one hundredth session. They said the challenges facing children today underscored the importance of the Committee’s work, with one speaker giving the example of violations of Palestinian children’s rights. Several speakers expressed commitment to engaging with the Committee, implementing the Convention, and promoting children’s rights worldwide, and thanked Committee Experts for their work and dedication. They noted the important role of the Committee in monitoring and advancing legislation related to children.
Many speakers, however, expressed concerns regarding the difficult circumstances faced by the Committee due to the resource constraints across the multilateral system. One speaker said that they would continue to support multilateralism and the United Nations as the proper forum for addressing collective challenges, and had increased unearmarked contributions to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to help maintain the functioning of the treaty bodies.
Another speaker said that the Committee’s backlog in individual communications was due to the unequal distribution of time during Committee sessions. Producing general comments should not cause extensions of the timeframes for the consideration of national reports. The speaker also expressed concerns that the procedure for selection of Committee Experts was often biased. Clearly partisan members of the Committee should not be allowed to be part of taskforces reviewing States.
Several speakers expressed concerns related to the Committee’s general comments, saying that they were not the product of intergovernmental negotiations, did not reflect the views of States parties, and did not constitute legally binding instruments. The Committee needed to fully respect the different legal systems, cultural contexts and institutional capacities of States when implementing the general comment. Issues related to health, education and personal status needed to be framed in a manner that reserved policy space for regulation in accordance with national legislation and societal values. Addressing general comment 27, one speaker said the absence of access to safe abortion services did not constitute a violation of international human rights obligations.
A speaker representing Eritrea said the State party had participated in a dialogue with the Committee that had gone well, but that the subsequent press release on the dialogue and concluding observations had contained misleading and false information. The press release stated that the Committee had urged Eritrea to put in place legal measures to prevent child marriage and female genital mutilation. However, the State party had in fact put in place strict legal measures to prohibit both. This press release had created a backlash domestically that could prevent the State party from participating in future reviews.
Another speaker expressed concern regarding the timing of reviews by treaty bodies, which often overlapped with other treaty body reviews and the Human Rights Council, as well as other domestic obligations.
Several speakers presented policy and legislative efforts to promote children’s rights domestically, including measures to protect children from violence and provide support to child victims of sexual violence; support children’s access to justice and prevent revictimisation during judicial proceedings; toughen sanctions for violations of the rights of the children; and increase financing for children’s education. One speaker expressed support for the work of the Committee to establish an Optional Protocol to the Convention regarding education.
Speakers asked questions on how the Committee was working to harmonise its working methods and coordinate with other treaty bodies; how it applied its decision on mid-term cycle follow-ups; how it intended to future-proof its work and address unknown and emerging threats to children; and how enterprises and other stakeholders could incorporate the Committee’s guidelines in their work to promote children’s rights. Some speakers called on the Committee and other treaty bodies to continue promoting multilingualism and to use all six official United Nations languages in their work.
Responses
SOPHIE KILADZE, Committee Chair, thanked States parties for their support for the Committee and the treaty body system. States’ efforts could guarantee the full realisation of the Convention and its Optional Protocols. She urged States to work together to overcome the difficulties faced by the treaty bodies.
In June 2025, the treaty body Chairs’ meeting was held, in which the Chairs came up with concrete recommendations related to the liquidity crisis, including recommendations regarding inter-sessional work. The Committee had also discussed internally how to strengthen its working methods and to harmonise them with other treaty bodies.
The Committee was facing unpredictability in terms of its schedule and an enormous backlog. This made it difficult to move ahead with the mid-term review process.
Children today faced both enormous challenges and opportunities related to artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. The Committee’s joint statement on artificial intelligence and the rights of the child guided all stakeholders on how to accelerate opportunities for children and protect them. This was not an international obligation but the authoritative guidance of the Committee, which interpreted the Convention related to this issue. The Committee had involved many stakeholders, including civil society organizations and children, in the process of preparing this document, and had also relied on States parties’ input.
Concerning general comment 27, the Committee would consider States parties’ concerns related to this topic under consideration.
Press releases could contain false information, though they usually sufficiently reflected dialogues. The Committee had had discussions regarding rationalisation of the process of producing press releases. It was very regrettable that the issue involving the press release on the dialogue with Eritrea had occurred. There was always room for improvement in this regard.
The Committee understood the difficulties faced by States in terms of scheduling and would consider systemic changes to prevent clashes.
Concluding Remarks
SOPHIE KILADZE, Committee Chair, thanked all delegations for their comments and questions. It was important for the Committee to have an informal exchange with States parties to reflect on its work, achievements and challenges. The Committee called on States to bring any issues related to its work to its attention so that it could address them in a timely manner.
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