Ad Hoc Committee on the Rights of the Child
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| Ad Hoc Committee on the Rights of the Child | |
|---|---|
| Name | Ad Hoc Committee on the Rights of the Child |
| Formation | 1978 |
| Dissolution | 1989 |
| Parent organization | United Nations |
| Purpose | Drafting international treaty on children's rights |
| Headquarters | New York City |
| Region served | Worldwide |
Ad Hoc Committee on the Rights of the Child The Ad Hoc Committee on the Rights of the Child was a United Nations diplomatic body convened to negotiate an internationally binding instrument on the rights of children, leading to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and involved sustained multilateral diplomacy across the late Cold War and postcolonial eras. The Committee operated amid interactions among states, intergovernmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations, shaping treaty language through iterations, working groups, and plenary sessions that reflected competing legal traditions and geopolitical blocs.
Background and Establishment
The Committee was established following discussions in the United Nations General Assembly and consultative inputs from the UN Commission on Human Rights, the UNICEF Executive Board, and delegates from member states including France, United Kingdom, United States, India, and Brazil, with procedural precedents drawn from the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Influential actors such as the International Labour Organization, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the International Committee of the Red Cross contributed technical expertise, while national delegations from Soviet Union, China, Canada, Nigeria, and Egypt shaped positions on sovereignty, family law, and social policy. The Committee's formation drew on models used during the negotiation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
Mandate and Objectives
The Committee's mandate, defined in General Assembly resolution language and procedural rules influenced by the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, tasked delegates from member states to elaborate a comprehensive international treaty on the rights of the child compatible with existing instruments such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Objectives included setting standards for civil rights, protection from exploitation, access to health services, and education, requiring coordination with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Council of Europe, and regional bodies like the Organization of American States and the African Union. The mandate also called for engagement with NGOs such as Save the Children, World Vision International, International Save the Children Alliance, and Human Rights Watch.
Membership and Organizational Structure
Membership comprised representatives of UN member states organized into regional groups—Group of 77, Eastern European Group, Asia-Pacific Group, Western European and Others Group, and African Group—with chairs and rapporteurs elected from among ambassadors accredited to the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The Committee established subsidiary bodies and working groups drawing experts from the Hague Conference on Private International Law, the International Court of Justice, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and specialists affiliated with universities such as Harvard University, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Yale University, and University of Tokyo. Liaison arrangements linked the Committee to intergovernmental missions from Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Australia, and Germany and to civil society coalitions including International Catholic Child Bureau and World Federation of Mental Health.
Key Activities and Negotiations
Negotiations unfolded through plenary sessions and drafting committees modeled on procedures used in the negotiation of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention against Torture, featuring interventions by delegations from Argentina, Mexico, Japan, South Africa, and Pakistan. The Committee debated rights-based language involving delegates with legal backgrounds connected to institutions like the European Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. Specialized negotiations addressed child labor with input from the International Labour Organization, juvenile justice involving attorneys from Amnesty International and jurists from the International Criminal Court preparatory commission, and health issues with technical advisories from the Pan American Health Organization and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Drafting of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
Drafting processes mirrored treaty-making practices seen in the Geneva Conventions and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, producing articles on civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, as well as protections against armed conflict referenced to protocols like the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. Key redrafts reflected positions advanced by delegations from Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey, and Indonesia over family rights, religious freedom, and customary law, while advocates from Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland, and Iceland pushed for expansive guarantees and reporting mechanisms overseen by a committee similar in function to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.
Adoption, Implementation, and Follow-up
The final text, negotiated with contributions from diplomats associated with missions from Belgium, Poland, Cuba, Kenya, and Philippines, was presented to the United Nations General Assembly and adopted following a vote influenced by diplomatic efforts paralleling those during the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Implementation and monitoring mechanisms resembled follow-up systems used by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and relied on reporting by state parties, engagement with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, technical assistance from UNICEF, and capacity-building partnerships with regional institutions such as the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
Criticisms and Controversies
Critiques of the Committee's work invoked debates similar to those surrounding the UN Human Rights Council and the Universal Periodic Review, with objections from some delegations over perceived infringements on family autonomy advanced by representatives from Vatican City, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Nigeria, and counterarguments from NGOs like Human Rights Watch and Save the Children. Controversies included disputes about cultural relativism highlighted by scholars from University of Cape Town and Jawaharlal Nehru University, tensions over enforcement analogous to critiques of the International Criminal Court, and procedural complaints about negotiation transparency voiced by civil society coalitions including Child Rights International Network and Terre des Hommes.