INTERNATIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE
OF NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS FOR THE
PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (ICC)
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL, 17TH SESSION, GENEVA
STATEMENT BY THE ICC
ON THE REPORT OF THE OPEN-ENDED WORKING GROUP ON AN OPTIONAL
PROTOCOL TO THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD TO
PROVIDE A COMMUNICATIONS PROCEDURE (DOC. A/HRC/17/36)
Mr. President
I have the honour of presenting this statement on behalf of the ICC in relation to the Report
of the Open-ended Working Group on an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights
of the Child (OP CRC).
As a global network of National Human Rights Institutions, the ICC has firmly supported the
development of a strong OP CRC that would promote and protect the rights of children, by
providing for a communications procedure which would respond to their specific interests.
The ICC believes that the OP CRC will reinforce the implementation of the Convention on
the Rights of the Child and its two Optional Protocols.
Mr President,
The ICC welcomes the present draft OP CRC and would like to commend all the parties who
participated in its development for their hard work.

The ICC welcomes paragraph 9 of the Preamble which recognizes the important role
of National Human Rights Institutions and other relevant specialized institutions in
promoting and protecting the rights of the child. The ICC would also have welcomed
in this regard a reference to the Paris Principles relating to the status of national
institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, which are annexed to
General Assembly resolution 48/134 (1993).

Also, the ICC supports the important statements included in paragraphs 8 and 10 of
the Preamble, as these relate to National Human Rights Institutions. Paragraph 8
encourages States parties to the OP CRC to develop appropriate national mechanisms
that will enable children whose rights have been violated to have access to effective
remedies at the domestic level. Paragraph 10 recognizes the fact that the OP CRC will
reinforce and complement national mechanisms for the protection of human rights, as
well as enhance the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
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
Moreover, the ICC approves of article 2 of the OP CRC, according to which the
Committee on the Rights of the Child, in fulfilling its functions, shall be guided by the
principle of the best interests of the child, shall have regard for the rights and views of
the child, as well as give due weight to the views of the child in accordance with the
age and maturity of the child. In this respect, the ICC commends the fact that article
3(2) requires the Committee to include safeguards in its rules of procedure in order to
prevent the manipulation of the child by those acting on his or her behalf.
Mr President,
The ICC understands that the draft OP CRC was the result of numerous compromises.
Despite this, the ICC would like to highlight a number of specific concerns regarding the
draft, and present its recommendations for the Council’s consideration.

The ICC acknowledges the importance of article 5 of the OP CRC, which refers to the
submission of communications by individuals or groups of individuals to the
Committee on the Rights of the Child. However, the ICC recalls that National Human
Rights Institutions can play a crucial role in providing children or their representatives
with a mechanism for submitting communications to the Committee on the Rights of
the Child. Therefore, the ICC strongly encourages the inclusion of language that
would expressly recognize this role of NHRIs.

Also, the ICC strongly supports the follow-up mechanism provided by article 11 of
the OP CRC. Article 11 indicates that the State party shall give due consideration to
the “views” and “recommendations” of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. The
ICC believes that this provision can be significantly improved if the term “requests”
was added throughout article 11. Moreover, the ICC is of the view that article 11
could be bolstered if the phrase “protection measures” (which refers to article 4) was
added after the phrase “implementation of a friendly settlement agreement” in the
second paragraph of this provision.

Furthermore, the ICC welcomes the inclusion of article 13 of the OP CRC, which
provides for an enquiry mechanism in the case of grave or systematic violations.
However, the ICC suggests that paragraphs 7 and 8 of article 13 be deleted since they
significantly weaken this article. In the alternative, the ICC proposes that paragraph 7
be amended in order for it to allow States to opt-out only in relation to the two
Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, but not with regard
to the Convention itself. The ICC believes that this is a reasonable and balanced
alternative and strongly encourages all States to consider it.

In addition, the ICC supports the language in paragraph 2 of article 22, which ensures
the continued application of certain provisions of the OP CRC, even though a State
party may have chosen to denounce and withdraw from it. In order to make this
provision more effective, the ICC proposes that a reference to articles 4 and 6 of the
OP CRC be added to paragraph 2 of article 22.

Finally, the ICC notes that the draft OP CRC does not prohibit States from making
reservations upon signature, ratification or accession to this instrument. The ICC
considers this to be an unfortunate development, and a digression from previous
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versions of the Optional Protocol. The ICC recalls that the OP CRC is an optional
instrument. Therefore it need not be weakened any further by allowing States to issue
reservations thereto. Accordingly, the ICC calls upon States to reconsider this matter
so as to eliminate the possibility of reservations to be made to the OP CRC.
Mr President,
Despite the numerous limitations I have just outlined in the text of the Optional Protocol, the
International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions declares its
commitment to the OP CRC and calls upon the Human Rights Council and the United
Nations General Assembly to support its adoption, subject to the proposals just made.
Moreover, the ICC calls upon all States to ratify the OP CRC and to promptly implement this
instrument. Finally the ICC declares that National Human Rights Institutions are committed
to assisting States in the ratification and implementation processes.
I thank you.
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