Promotion and protection of the rights of children

(a) Promotion and protection of the rights of children

At its forty-fourth session, in 1989, the General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (resolution 44/25). The Convention entered into force on 2 September 1990. At its fifty-fourth session, the Assembly adopted two optional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (resolution 54/263): one on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and on e on the involvement of children in armed conflict. The first protocol entered into force on 18 January 2002 and the second on 12 February 2002. At its sixty-sixth session, the Assembly adopted the third Optional Protocol on a communications procedure (resolution 66/138), which entered into force on 14 April 2014.

At its sixty-eighth session, the General Assembly welcomed the existing collaboration among relevant actors of the United Nations working on the promotion and protection of the rights of the child, including child protection, and requested the Secretary-General to submit a follow-up report to the Assembly at its seventy-first session on the current collaboration within the United Nations system on child protection, taking into account information provided by Member States and relevant actors of the United Nations (resolution 68/145).

At its seventieth session, the General Assembly requested the Secretary -General to submit to the Assembly at its seventy-first session a report on the rights of the child containing information on the status of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the issues addressed in the resolution entitled “Rights of the child”, with a focus

on migrant children; requested the Special Representative of the Secretary -General for Children and Armed Conflict to continue to submit reports to the Assembly and the Human Rights Council on the activities undertaken in the fulfilment of her mandate, including information on her field visits and on the progress achieved and the challenges remaining on the children and armed conflict agenda; requested the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children to continue to submit annual reports to the Assembly and the Council on the activities undertaken in the fulfilment of her mandate, consistent with paragraphs 58 and 59 of its resolution 62/141, including information on her field visits and on the progress achieved and the challenges remaining on the violence against children agenda; requested the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography to continue to submit reports to the Assembly and the Council on the activities undertaken in the fulfilment of her mandate, including information on her field visits and on the progress achieved and the challenges remaining on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography agenda;

invited the Chair of the Committee on the Rights of the Child to present an oral report on the work of the Committee and engage in an interactive dialogue with the Assembly at its seventy-first session as a way to enhance communication between the Assembly and the Committee; and decided to continue its consideration of the question at its seventy-first session, focusing section III of the resolution entitled

“Rights of the child” on the theme “Migrant children” (resolution 70/137).

Documents for the seventy-first session:

(a) Report of the Secretary-General on collaboration within the United Nations system on child protection (resolution 68/145);

(b) Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (resolution 70/137);

(c) Annual report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children (resolution 70/137);

(d) Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (resolution 70/137).

Child, early and forced marriage

At its sixty-ninth session, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to submit a comprehensive report to the Assembly, before the end of its seventieth session, on progress towards ending child, early and forced marriage worldwide since the issuance of the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of 2 April 2014 (A/HRC/26/22 and Corr.1), with particular emphasis on high-prevalence countries, best practices for programmes aimed at ending the practice and supporting already married women and girls, gaps in research and implementation and legal reforms and policies related to this matter, using information provided by Member States, United Nations bodies, agencies, funds and programmes, civil society and other relevant stakeholders. It deci ded to consider the issue of child, early and forced marriage at its seventy-first session, taking into account the multifaceted and worldwide nature of the issue of child, early and forced marriage (resolution 69/156).

Protecting children from bullying

At its sixty-ninth session, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to submit a report to it at its seventy-first session on protecting children from bullying, with an emphasis on causes and effects, good practices and guidance to prevent and respond to bullying, using information provided by Member States and relevant stakeholders, in collaboration with relevant United Nations entities (resolution 69/158).

Document for the seventy-first session: Report of the Secretary-General (resolution 69/158).

References for the sixty-eighth session (agenda item 65 (a))

Report of the Secretary-General on collaboration within the United Nations system on child protection (A/68/253)

Summary records A/C.3/66/SR.14-18, 26, 36, 49, 51, 53 and 54 Report of the Third Committee A/68/452 and Corr.1

Plenary meeting A/68/PV.70

Resolution 68/145

References for the sixty-ninth session (agenda item 64 (a)) Notes by the Secretary-General transmitting:

Summary report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the panel discussion on preventing and eliminating child, early and forced marriage (A/69/165)

Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on preventing and eliminating child, early and forced marriage (A/69/166)

Summary records A/C.3/69/SR.13-18, 26, 36, 44, 48, 49, 51 and 52

Report of the Third Committee A/69/484

Plenary meeting A/69/PV.73

Resolutions 69/156 and 69/158

References for the seventieth session (agenda item 68 (a))

Report of the Secretary-General on the status of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (A/70/315)

Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (A/70/162)

Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children (A/70/289)

Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (A/70/222)

Summary records A/C.3/70/SR.13-17, 36, 50, 54 and 55 Report of the Third Committee A/70/485

Plenary meeting A/70/PV.80

Resolution 70/137

(b) Follow-up to the outcome of the special session on children

At its fifty-first session, in 1996, under the item entitled “Operational activities for development”, the General Assembly decided to convene a special session of the Assembly in 2001 to review the achievement of the goals of the World Summit for Children, and to consider the arrangements for the special session at its fifty -third session (resolution 51/186).

At its twenty-seventh special session, in 2002, the General Assembly adopted a resolution entitled “A world fit for children”, in which it requested the Secretary -General to report regularly on progress made in implementing the Plan of Action included in the annex to the resolution (resolution S-27/2).

At its fifty-third to fifty-eighth and sixtieth to sixty-ninth sessions, the General Assembly continued its consideration of the item (resolutions 53/193, 54/93, 55/26, 56/222 and 58/282 and decisions 57/537, 57/551, 60/537, 61/532, 62/535, 63/537, 64/538, 65/539, 66/540, 67/541, 68/538 and 69/532).

At its sixty-second session, the General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the commemorative high-level plenary meeting devoted to the follow-up to the outcome of the special session on children (resolution 62/88), in which the representatives of States gathered at the meeting reaffirmed their commitment to the full implementation of the Declaration and Plan of Action contained in the outcome document of the twenty-seventh special session of the Assembly on children, entitled “A world fit for children” (resolution S-27/2, annex).

At its seventieth session, under the item entitled “Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly”, the General Assembly approved the programme of work of the Third Committee for the seventieth session, which contained item 68 (b) (decision 70/537).

Document for the seventy-first session: Report of the Secretary-General (resolution S-27/2).

References for the seventieth session (agenda items 68 and 120) Report of the Secretary-General A/70/265

Summary records A/C.3/70/SR.13-17 and 56

Reports of the Third Committee A/70/485 and A/70/522

Plenary meeting A/70/PV.80

Decision 70/537