Convention on the Rights of the Child

PREAMBLE

The States Parties to the present Convention,
Considering that, in accordance with the princeples proclaimed in the charter
of the United Nations, recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and
inalienable rights of all member of the human family is the foundation of
freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Bearing in mind that the peoples of the United Nations have, in the Charter,
reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights and the dignity and worth of
the human person, and have determined to promote social progress and better
standards of life in larger freedom,
Recognizing that the United Nations has, in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and in the International Covenants on Human Rights, proclaimed and
agreed that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth
therein, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property,
birth or other status,
Recalling that, in the Universal Declaraton of Human Rights, the United
Nations has procalimed that childhood is entitled to special care and
assistance,
Convinced that the family, as the fundamental group of society and the
natural environment for the growth and well-being of all its member and
particularly children, should be affordered the neccessary protection and
assistance so that it can fully assume its responsibilities within the
community,
Recognizing that the child, for the full and harmonious development of his or
her personality, should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of
happiness, love and understanding,
Condidering that the child should be fully prepared to live an individual
life in society, and brought up in the spirit of the ideals proclaimed in the
Charter of the United Nations, and in particular in the spirit of peace,
dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity,
Bearing in mind that the need to extend particular care to the child has been
stated in the Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child of 1924 and in the
Declaration of the Rights of the Child adopted by the General Assembly on 20
November 1959 and recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in
the International Convenant on Civil and Political Rights(in Particular in
articles 23 and 24), in the International Covenat on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights(in particular in article 10) and in the statutes and relevant
instruments of specialized agencies and international organizations concerned
with the welfare of children,
Bearing in mind that, as indicated in the Declaration of the Rights of the
Child, " the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs
special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as
well as after birth",
Recalling the provisions of the Declaration on Social and Legal Principles
relating to the Protection and Welfare of Children, with Special reference to
Foster Placement and Adoption Nationally and Internationally; the United
Nations Standard Minimun Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice(The
Beijing Rules); and the Declaration of the Protection of Women and Children in
Emergency and Armed Conflict,
Recognizing that, in all countries in the world, there are children living in
exceptionally difficult conditions, and that such children need special
consideration,
Taking due account of the importance of the traditions and cultural values of
each people for the protection and harmonious development of the child,
Recognizing the importance of international co-operation for improving the
living conditions of children in every country, in particular in the developing
countries,
Have agreed as follows:

PART 1

Article 1 For the purposes of the present convention, a child means every
human being below the age of eighteen years unless, under the law applicable to
the child, majority is attained earlier.

Article 2 1. States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in
the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without
descrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's or his or her parent's
or legal guardian's race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or
other status.
2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the
child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the
basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child's
parents, legal guardians, or family members.

Article 3 1. In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public
or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative
authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a
primary consideration.
2. States Parties undertake to ensure the child such protection and care as
is neccessary for his or her well-being, taking into accout the rights and
duties of his or her parents, legal gardians, or other individuals legally
responsible for him or her, and, to this end, shall take all appropriate
legislative administrative measures.
3. States Parties shall ensure that the institutions, sevices and facilities
responsible for the care or protection of children shall conform with the
standards established by competent authorities, particularly, in the areas of
safety, health, in the number and suitability of their staff, as well as
competent supervision.

Article 4 States Parties shall undertake all appropriate legislative,
administrative, and other measures for the implementation of the rights
recognized in the present Convention. With regard to economic, social and
cultural rights, States Parties shall undertake such measures to the maximum
extent of their available resources and, where needed, within the framework of
international co-operation.

Article 5 States Parties shall respect the responsibilities, rights, and
duties of parents or, where applicable, the members of the extended family of
community as provided for by local custom, legal guardians or other persons
legally responsible for the child, to provide, in a manner consistent with the
evolving capacities of the child, appropriate direction and guidance in the
exercise by the child of the rights recognized in the present Convention.

Article 6 1. States Parties recognize that every child has the ingerent right
to life.
2. States Parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival
and development of the child.

Article 7 1. The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall
have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and, as
far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents.
2. States Parties shall ensure the implementation of these rights in
accordance with their national law and their obligations under the relevant
international instruments in the field, in particular where the would otherwise
be stateless.

Article 8 1. States Parties undertake to respect the right of the child to
preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name and family relations
as recognized by law without unlawful interference.
2. Where a child is illegally deprived of some or all of the elements of his
or her identity, States Parties shall provide appropriate assistance and
protection, with a view to speedily re-establishing his or her identiy.

Article 9 1. States Parties shall ensure that a child shall not be separated
from his or her parents against their will, except when competent authorities
subject to judicial review determine, in accordance with applicable law and
procedures, that such separation is neccessary for the best interests of the
child. Such determination may be neccessary in a particular case such as one
involving abuse or neglect of the child by the parents, or one where the
parents are living separately and a decision must be made as to the child's
place of residence.
2. In any proceedings pursuant to pargpraph 1 of the present article, all
interested parties shall be given an opportunity to participate in the
proceedings and make their views known.
3. States Parties shall respect the right of the child who is separeted from
one or both parents to maintain personal relations and direct contact with both
parents on a regular basis, except if it is contrary to the child's best
interests.
4. Where such separation results from any action intiated by a State Party,
such as the detention, imprisonment, exile, deportation or death(including
death arising from any cause while the person is in the custody of the State)
of one or both parents or of the child, that State Party shall, upon request,
provide the parents, the child or, if appropriate, another member of the family
with the essential information concerning the whereabouts of the absent
member(s) of the family unless the provision of the information would be
detrimental to the well-being of the child. States Parties shall further
ensure that the submission of such a request shall of itself entail no adverse
consequences for the person(s) concerned.

Article 10 1. In accordance with the obligation of States Parties under
article 9, paragraph 1, applications by a child or his or her parents to enter
or leave a State Party for the purpose of family reunification shall be dealt
with by States Parties in a positive, humane and expeditious manner. States
Parties shall further ensure that the submission of such a request shall entail
no adverse consequences for the applicants and for the members of their family.
2. A child whose parents reside in differnt States shall have the right to
maintain on a regular basis, save in exceptional circumstances personal
relations and direct contacts with both parents. Towards that end and in
accordance with the obligation of States Parties under article 9, paragraph 1,
States Parties shall respect the right of the child and his or her parents to
leave any country, including their own, and to enter their own county. The
right to leave any country shall be subject only to such restrictions as are
prescribed by law and which are neccessary to protect the national security,
public order(ordre public), public health or morals or the rights and freedoms
of other and are consistent with the other rights recognized in the present
Convention.

Article 11 1. States Parties shall take measures to combat the illicit
transfer and non-return of children abroad.
2. To this end, States Parties shall promote the conclusion of bilateral or
multilateral agreements or accession to existing agreements.

Article 12 1. States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of
forming his or her own views the right express those views freely in all
matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in
accordance with the age and maturity of the child.
2. For this purpose, the child shall in particular be provided the
opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceeding affecting
the child, either directly, or through a representative or an appropriate body,
in a manner consistent with the procedural rules of national law.

Article 13 1. The child shall have the right to freedom of expression; this
right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas
of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print,
in the form of art, or through any other media of the child's choice.
2. The exercise of this right may be subject to certain restrictions, but
these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary:
(a)For respect of the rights or reputations of others; or
(b)For the protection of national security or of public order(ordre public),
or of public health or morals.

Article 14 1. States Parties shall respect the right of the child to freedom
of thought, conscience and religion.
2. States parties shall respect the rights and duties of the parents and,
when applicable, legal guardians, to provide direction to the child in the
exercise of his or her right in a manner consistent with the evolving capacites
of the child.
3. Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be subject only to such
limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public
safety, order, health or morals, or the fundamental rights and freedoms of
others.

Article 15 1. States Parties recognize the rights of the child to freedom of
association and to freedom to peaceful assembly.
2. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of these rights other than
those imposed in conformity with the law and which are neccessary in a
democratic society in the intersts of national security or public safety,
public order(ordre public), the protection of public health or morals or the
protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

Article 16 1. No child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful
interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to
unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation.
2. The child has the right to the protection of the law against such
interference or attacks.

Artice 17 States Parties recognize the important function performed by the
mass media and shall ensure that the child has access to information and
material from a diversity of national and international sources, especially
those aimed at the promotion of his or her social, spiritual and moral
well-being and physical and mental health. To this end, States Parties shall:
(a)Encourage the mass media to disseminate information and material of social
and cultural benefit to the child and in accordance with the spirit of article
29;
(b)Encourage international co-operation in the production, excharge and
dissemination of such information and material from a diversity of cultural,
national and international sources;
(c)Encourage the production and dissemination of children's books;
(d)Encourage the mass media to have particular regard to the linguistic needs
of the child who belongs to a minority goup or who is indigenous;
(e)Encourage the development of appropriate guidelines for the protection of
the child from information and material injurious to his or her well-being,
bearing in mind the provisions of articles 13 and 18.

Article 18 1. States Parties shall use their best efforts to ensure
recognition of the princeple that both parents have common responsibilityes for
the upbringing and development of the child. Parents or, as the case may be,
legal guardians, have the primary responsibility for the upbringing and
development of the child. The best interets of the child will be their basic
concern.
2. For the purpose of guaranteeing and promoting the rights set forth in the
present Convention, States Parties shall render appropriate assistance to
parents and legal guardians in the performance of their child-rearing
responsibilities and shall ensure the development of institutions, facilities
and servies for the care of children.
3. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that children
of working parents have the right to benefit from child-care services and
facilities for which they are eligible.

Article 19 1. States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative,
administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all
forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent
treatment, maltreamtment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the
care of parent(s), legal guardians(s)or any other person who has the care of
the child.
2. Such protective measures should, as appropriate, include effective
procesures for the establishment of social programmes to provide necessary
support for the child and for those who have the care of the child, as well as
for other forms of prevention and for identification, reporting, referral,
investigation, treatment and follow-up of instances of child maltreatment
described heretofore, and, as appropriate, for judicial involvement.

Article 20 1. A child temporarily or permancently deprived of his or her
family environment, or in whose own best intersts cannot be allowed to remain
in that environment, shall be entitled to special protection and assistance
provided by the State.
2. States Parties shall in accordance with their national laws ensure
alternative care for such a child.
3. Such care could include, inter alia, foster placement, kafalak of Islamic
law, adoption or if necessary placement in suitable institutions for the care
of children. When considering solutions, due regard shall be paid to the
desirability of continuity in a child's upbringing and to the child's ethnic,
religious, cultural and linguistic background.

Article 21 States parties that recognize and/or permit the system of adoption
shall ensure that the best interests of the child shall be the paramount
consideration and they shall:
(a)Ensure that the adoption of a child is authorized only by competent
authorities who determine, in accordance with applicable law and procedures and
on the basis of all pertinent and reliable information, that the adoption is
permissible in view of the child's status concerning parents, relatives and
legal guardians and that, if required, the persons concerned have given their
informed consent to the adoption on the basis of such counselling as may be
neccessary:
(b)Recognize that inter-country adoption may be considered as an alternative
means of child's care, if the child cannot in any suitable manner be cared for
in the child's country of origin;
(c)Ensure that the child concerned by inter-country adoption enjoys
safeguards and standards equivalent to those existing in the case of national
adoption;
(d)Take all appropriate measures to ensure that, in inter-country adoption,
the placement does not result in improper financial gain for those involved in
it;
(e)Promote, where appropriate, the objectives of the present article by
concluding bilateral or multilateral arrangements or agreements, and endeavour,
within this framework, to ensure that the placement of the child in another
country is carried out by competent authorities or organs.

Article 22 1. States Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure that a
child who is seeking refugee states or who is considered a refugee in
accordance with applicable international or domestic law and produres shall,
whether unaccompanied or accompained by his or her parents or by any other
person, receive appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance in the
enjoyment applicable rights set forth in the present Convention and in other
international human rights or humanitarian instruments to which the said States
are Parties.
2. For this purpose, States Parties shall provide, as they consider
appropriate, co-operation in any efforts by the United Nations and other
competent intergovernmental organizatins or non-governmental organizations
co-operating with the United Nations to protect and assist such a child and to
trace the parents or other members of the family of any refugee child in order
to obtain information necessary for reunification with his or her family. In
cases where no parents or other members of the family can be found, the child
shall be accorded the same protection as any other child permanently or
temporarily deprived of his or her family environment for any reason, as set
forth in the present Convention.

Article 23 1. States parties recognize that a mentally or physically disabled
child should enjoy a full and decent life, in conditions which ensure dignity,
promote self-reliance and facilitate the child's active participation in the
community.
2. States Parties recognize the right of the disabled child to special care
and shall encourage and ensure the extension, subject to available resources,
to the eligible child and those responsible for his or her care, of assistance
for which application is made and which is appropriate to the child's condition
and to the circumstances of the parents or others caring for the child.
3. Recognizing the special needs of a disabled child, assistance extended in
accordance with paragraph 2 of the present article shall be provided free of
chage, whnever possible, taking into account the financial resources of the
parents or others caring for the child, and shall be designed to ensure that
the disabled child has effective access to and receives education, training,
health care service, rehabilitation services, preparation for employment
achieving the fullest possible social integration and individual development,
including his or her cultural and spiritual development.
4. States Parties shall promote, in the spirit of international cooperation,
the exchange of appropriate information in the field of preventive health care
and of medical, psychological and functional treatment of disabled children,
including dissemination of and access to information concerning methods of
rehabilitation, education and vocational services, with the aim of enabling
States Parties to improve their capabilityes and skills and to widen their
experiecnce in these areas. In this regard, particular account shall be taken
of the needs of developing countries.

Article 24 1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to the enjoyment
of the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities for the
treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health. States Parties shall strive
to ensure that no child is deprived of his or her right of access to such
health care services.
2. States Parties shall pursue full implementation of this right and, in
particular, shall take appropriate measures:
(a)To diminish infant and child mortality;
(b)To ensure the provision of necessary medical assistance and health care to
all children with emphasis on the development of primary health care;
(c)To combat disease and malnutrition, including within the framework of
primary health care, through, inter alia, the application of readily available
technology and through the provision of adequate nutritious foods and clean
drinking-water, taking into consideration the dangers and risks of
environmental pollution;
(d)To ensure appropriate pre-natal and post natal health care for mothers;
(e)To ensure that all segments of society, in particular parents and
children, are informed, have acceess to education and are supported in the use
of basic knowledge of child health and nutriton, the advantages of
breast-feeding, hygience and environmental sanitation and the prevention of
accidents;
(f)To develop preventive health care, guidance for parents and family
planning education and services.
3. States Parties shall take all effective and appropriate measures with a
view to abolishing traditional practices prejudicial to the health of children.
4. States Parties undertake to promote and encourage international
co-operation with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the
right recognized in the present article. In this regard, particular account
shall be taken of the needs of developing countries.

Article 25 States Parties recognize the right of a child who has been placed
by the competent authorities for the purposes of care, protection or treatment
of his or her physical or mental health, to a periodic review of the treatment
provided to the child and all other circumstances relevant to his or her
placement.

Article 26 1. States Parties shall recognize for every child the right to
benefit from social security, including social insurance, and shall take the
necessary measures to achieve the full realization fo this right in accordance
with their national law.
2. The benefits should, where appropriate, be granted, taking into accout the
resources and the circumstances of the child and persons having responsibility
for the maintanance of the child, aswell as any other consideration relevant to
an application for benefits made by or no behalf of the child.

Article 27 1. States Parties recognize the right of every child to a standard
of living adequate for the child's physical, mental, spiritual, moral and
social development.
2. The parent(s) or others responsible for the child have the primary
responsibility to secure, within their abilities and financial capacities, the
conditions of living necessary for the child's development.
3. States Parties, in accordance with national conditions and within their
means, shall take appropriate measures to assist parents and others responsible
for the child to implement this right and shall in case of need provide
material assistance and support programmes, particularly with regard to
nutrition, clothing and housing.
4. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to secure the recovery
of maintenance for the child from the parents or other persons having financial
responsibility for the child, both within the State Party and from abroad. In
particular, where the person having financial responsibility for the child
lives in a State different from that of the child, States Parties shall promote
the accession to internaitonal agreements or the conclusion of such agreements,
as well as the making of other appropriate arrngements.

Article 28 1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to education,
and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal
oppotunity, they shall, in particular:
(a)Make primary education compulsory and available free to all:
(b)Encourage the development of differnt forms of secondary education,
including general and vocational education, make them available and accessible
to every child, and take appropriate measures such as the introduction of free
education and offering financial assistance in case of need;
(c)Make higher education accssible to all on the basis of capacity by every
appropriate means;
(d)Make educational and vocational information and guidance available and
accessible to all children;
(e)Take measures to encourage regular attendance at schools and the reduction
of drop-out rates.
2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that school
discipline is administered in a manner consistent with the child's human
dignity and in conformity with the present Convention.
3. States Parties shall promote and encourage international cooporation in
matters relating to education, in particular with a view to contributing to the
elimination of ignorance and illiteracy throughout the world and facilitating
access to scientific and technical knowledge and modern teaching mothods. In
this regard, particular account shall be taken of the needs of developing
countries.

Article 29 1. States Parties agree that the education of the child shall be
directed to:
(a)The development of the child's personality, talents and mental and
physical abilities to their fullest potentioal;
(b)The development of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and
for the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations;
(c)The development of respect of the child's parents, his or her own cultural
identity, language and values, for the national values of the county in which
the child is living, the country from which he or she may originate, and for
civilizations different from his or her own;
(d)The preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in
the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and
friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons
of indigenous origin;
(e)The development of respect for the natural environment.
2. No part of the present article or article 28 shall be construed so as to
interfere with the liberty of individuals and bodies to establish and direct
educational institutions, subject always to the observance of the principles
set forth in paragraph 1 of the present article and to the requirements that
the education given in such institutions shall conform to such minimum
standards as may be laid down by the State.

Article 30 In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities
or persons of indigenous origin exist, a child belonging to such a minority or
who is indigenous shall not be denied the right, incommunity with other members
of his or her group, to enjoy his or her own culture, to profess and practise
his or her won religion, or to use his or her own language.

Article 31 1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to rest and
leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age
of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.
2. States Parties shall respect and promote the right of the child to
participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage the
provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic,
recreational and leisure activity.

Article 32 1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to be protected
from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be
hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the
child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.
2. States Parties shall take legislative, administrative, social and
educational measures to ensure the implementation of the present article. To
this end, and having regard to the relevant provisions of other international
instruments, States Parties shall in particular:
(a)Provide for a minimum age or minimum ages for admission to employment;
(b)Provide for appropriate regulation of the hours and conditions of
employment;
(c)Provide for appropriate penalties of ther sanctions to ensure the
effective enforcement of the present article.

Article 33 States Parties shall take all appropriate measures, including
legislative, administrative, social and educational measures, to protect
children from the illicit use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances as
defined in the relevant international treaties, and prevent the use of children
in the illicit production and trafficking of such substances.

Article 34 States Parties undertake to protect the child from all forms of
sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. For these purposes, States Parties shall
in particular take all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral
measures to prevent:
(a)The inducement or coercion of a child to engage in any unlawful sexual
activity;
(b)The exploitative use of children in prostitution or other unlawful sexual
practices;
(c)The exploitative use of children in pornographis performances and
materials.

Article 35 States Parties shall take all appropriate national, bilateral and
multilateral measures to prevent the abduction of, the sale of or traffic in
children for any purpose or in any form.

Article 36 States Parties shall protect the child against all other forms of
exploitation prejudicial to any aspects of the child's welfare.

Article 37 States parties shall ensure that:
(a) No child shall be sujected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment. Neither capital punishment nor life
imprisonment without possibility of release shall be imposed for offences
committed by persons below eighteen years of age;
(b) No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or
arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in
conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of lat resort and
for the shortest appropriate period of time;
(c)Every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect
for the inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner which takes into
account the needs of persons of his or her age. In particular, every child
deprived of liberty shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in
the child's best interest not to do so and shall have the right to maintain
contact with his or her family through correspondence and visits, save in
exceptional circumstances;
(d)Every child deprived of his or her own liberty shall have the right to
prompt access to legal and other appropriate assistance, as well as the right
to challenge the legality of the deprivation of his or her liberty before a
court or other competent, independent and impartial authority, and to a prompt
decision on any such action.

Article 38 1. States parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for
rules of international humanitarian law applicable to them in armed conflicts
which are relevant to the child.
2. States Parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure that persons who
have not attained the age of fifteen years do not take a direct part in
hostilities.
3. States Parties shall refrain from recruiting any person who has not
attained the age of fifteen years into their armed forces. In recruiting among
those persons who have attained the age of fifteen years but who have not
attained the age of eighteen years, States Parties shall endeavour to give
priority to those who are oldest.
4. In accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law
to protect the civilian population in armed conflicts, States Parties shall
take all feasible measures to ensure protection and care of children who are
affected by an armed conflict.

Article 39 States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to promote
physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of a child victim
of: any form of neglect, exploitation, or abuse; torture or any other form of
cruel, inhuman or degrading dreatment or punishment; or armed conflicts. Such
recoverly and reintegration shall take place in an environment which fosters
the health, self-respect and dignity of the child.

Article 40 1. States Parties recognize the right of every child alleged as,
accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law to be treated in a
manner consistent with the promotion of the child's sense of dignity and worth,
which reinforces the child's respect for the human rights and fundamental
freedoms of others and which takes into account the child's age and the
desirability of promoting the child's reintegration and the child's assuming a
constructive role in society.
2. To this end, and having regard to the relevant provisions of international
instruments, States Parties shall, in particular, ensure that;
(a)No child shall be alleged as, be accused of, or recognized as having
infringed the penal law by reason of acts or ommisions that were not prohibited
by national or international law at the time they were committed;
(b)Every child alleged as or accused of having infringed the penal law has at
least the following guarantees:
(i)To be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law;
(ii)To be informed promptly and directly of the charges against him or her,
and, if appropriate, through his or her harents or legal guardians, and to have
legal or other appropriate assistance in the preparation and presentation of
his or her defence;
(iii)To have the matter determined without delay by a competent, independent
and impartial authority or judicial body in a fair hearing according to law, in
the presence of legal or other appropriate assistance and, unless it is
considered not to be in the best interest of the child, in particular, taking
into accout his or her age or situation, his or her parents or legal guardians;
(iv)Not to be compelled to give testimony or to confess guilt; to examine or
have exmanined adverse witnesses and to obtain the participation and
examination of witnesses on his or her behalf under conditions of equality;
(v)If considered to have infringed the penal law, to have this decision and
any measures imposed in consequence thereof reviewed by a higher competent,
independent and impartial authority or judicial body according to law;
(vi)To have the free assistance of an interpreter if the child cannot
understand or speak the language used;
(vii)To have his or her privacy fully respected at all stages of the
proceedings.
3. States Parties shall seek to promote the establishment of laws,
procedures, authorities and institutions specifically applicable to children
alleged as, accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law, and,
in particular:
(a)The establishment of a minimum age below which children shall be presumed
not to have the capacity to infringe the penal law;
(b)Whenever appropriate and desirable, measures for dealing with such
children without resorting to judicial proceeding, providing that human rights
and legal safeguards are fully respected.
4. A variety of dispositions, such as care, guidance and supervision orders;
counselling; probation; foster care; education and vocational training
programmes and other alternatives to institutional care shall be available to
ensure that children are dealt with in a manner appropriate to their well-being
and proportionate both to their circumstances and the offence.

Article 41 Nothing in the present Convention shall affect any provisions which
are more conductive to the realization of the rights of the child and which may
be contained in:
(a)The law of a State Party; or
(b)International law in force for that State.

PART 2

Article 42 States Parties undertake to make the principles and provisions of
the Convention widely known, by appropriate and active means, to adults and
children alike.

Article 43 1. For the purpose of examining the progress made by States Parties
in achieving the realization of the obligations undertakes in the present
convention, there shall be established a Committee on the Rights of the Child,
which shall carry out the functins hereinafter provided.
2. The Committee shall consist of ten experts of high moral standing and
recognized competence in the field covered by this Convention. The members of
the Committee shall be elected by States Parties from among their national and
shall serve in their personal capacity, consideration being given to equitable
geographical distribution, as well as to the principal legal systems.
3. The members of the Committee shall be elected by secret ballot from a list
of persons nominated by States Parties. Each State Party may nominate on
person from among its own nationals.
4. The initial election to the Committee shall be held no later than six
months after the date of the entry into force of the present Convention and
thereafter every second year. At least four months before the date of each
election, the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall address a letter to
States Parties inviting them to General shall subsequently prepare a list in
alphabetical order of all persons thus nominated, indication States Parties
which have nominated them, and shall submit it to the States Parties to the
present Convention.
5. The elections shall be held at meeting of States Parties convened by the
Secretary-General at United Nations Headquarters. At those meeting, for which
two thirds of States Parties shall constitute a quorum, the persons elected
to the Committee shall be those two obtain the largest number of votes and an
absolute majority of the votes of the representative of States Parties present
and voting.
6. The member of the Committee shall be elected for a term of four years.
They shall be eligible for reelection if renominated. The term of five of the
members elected at the first election shall expire at the end of two years;
immediately after the first election, the names of these five members shall be
chosen by lot by the Chairman of the meeting.
7. If a memeber of the Committee dies or resigns or declares that for any
other cause be or she can no longer perform the duties of the committee, the
State Party which nominated the member shall appoint another expert from among
its nationals to serve for the remainder of the term, subject to the approval
of the Committee.
8. The Committee shall establish its own rules of procedure.
9. The committee shall elect its officers for a period of two years.
10. The meetings of the Committee shall normally be held at United Nations
Headquarters or at any other convenient place as determined by the committee.
The Committee shall normally meet annually. The duration of the meetings of
the Committee shall be determined, and reviewed, if neccessary, by a meeting of
the States Parties to the Present Convention, subject to the approval of the
General Assembly.
11. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall provide the necessary
staff and facilities for the effective performance of the functions of the
Committee under the present Convention.
12. With the approval of the General Assembly, the members of the committee
established under the present Convention shall receive emoluments from United
Nations resources on such terms and conditions as the Assembly may decide.

Article 44 1. States Parties undertake to submit to the Committee, through the
Secretary-General of the United Nations, reports on the measures they have
adopted which give effect to the rights recognized herein and on the progress
made on the enjoyment of those rights:
(a)Within two years of the entry into force of the Convention for the States
Party concerned;
(b)Thereafter every five years.
2. Reports made under the present article shall indicate factors and
difficulties, if any, affecting the degree of fulfilment of the obligations
under the present Convention. Reports shall also contain sufficient
information to provide the Committee with a comprehensive understanding of the
implementation of the Convention in the country concerned.
3. A State Party which has submitted a comprehensive initial report to the
Committee need not, in its subsequent reports submitted in accordance with
paragraph 1(b) of the present article, repeat basic information previously
provided.
4. The Committee may request from State Parties further information relevant
to the implementation of the Convention.
5. The committee shall submit to the General Asembly, through the Economic
and Social Council, every two years, reports on its activities.
6. States Parties shall make their reports widely available to the public in
their own countries.

Article 45 In order to foster the effective implementation of the Convention
and to encourage international co-operation in the field covered by the
Convention:
(a)The specialized agencies, the United Nations Children's Fund, and other
United Nations organs shall be entitled to be represented at the consideration
of the implementation of such provisions of the present Convention as fall
within the scope of their mandates. The Committee may invide the specialized
agencies, The United Nations Children's Fund and other competent bodies as it
may consider appropriate to provide expert advice on the implementation of the
Convention in ares falling within the scope of their respective mandates. The
Committee may invite the specialized agencies, the United Nations Children's
Fund, and other United Nations organs to submit reports on the implementation
of the Convention in areas falling within the scope of their activities;
(b)The Committee shall transmit, as it may consider appropriate, to the
specialized agencies, the United Nations Children's Fund and other competent
bodies, any reports from States Parties that contain a request, or indicate a
need, for technical advice or assistance, along with the Committee's
observations and suggestions, if any, on these requests or indications;
(c)The Committee may recommend to the General Assembly to request the
Secretary-General to undertake on its behalf studies on specific issues
relating to the rights of the child;
(d)The Committee may make suggestions and general recommendations based on
information received pursuant to articles 44 and 45 of the present Convention.
Such suggestions and general recommendations shall be transmitted to any State
Party concerned and reported to the General Assembly, together with comments,
if any, from States Parties.

PART 3

Article 46 The present Convention shall be open for signature by all States.

Article 47 The present Convention is subject to ratification. Instruments of
ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations.

Article 48 The present Convention shall remain open for accession by any
State. The instruments of accession shall be deposited with the
Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Article 49 1. The present Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth
day following the date of deposit with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations of the twentieth instrument of ratification or accession.
2. For each State ratifying or acceding to the Convention after the deposit
of the twentieth instrument of ratification or accesstion, the Convention shall
enter into force on the thirtieth day after the deposit by such State of it
instrument of ratification or accession.

Article 50 1. Any State Party may propose an amendment and file it with the
Secretary-General shall thereupon communicate the proposed amendment to States
Parties, with a request that they indicate whether they favour a conference of
States Parties for the purpose of considering and voting upon the proposals.
In the event that, within four months from the date of such communication, at
least one thierd of the States Parties favour such a conference, the
Secretary-General shall convene the conference under the auspices of the United
Nations. Any amendment adopted by a majority of States Parties present and
voting at the conference shall be submitted to the General Assembly for
approval.
2. An amendment adopted in accordance with paragraph 1 of the present article
shall enter into force when it has been approved by the General Assembly of the
United Nations and accepted by a two-thirds majority of States Parties.
3. When an amendment enters into force, it shall be binding on those States
Parties which have accepted it, other States Parties still being bound by the
provisions of the present Convention and any earlier amendments which they have
accepted.

Article 51 1. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall receive and
circulate to all States the text of reservations made by States at the time of
ratification or accession.
2. A reservation incompatible with the object and purpose of the present
Convention shall not be permitted.
3. Reservations may be withdrawn at any time by notification to that effect
addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall then inform
all States. Such notification shall take effect on the date on which it is
received by the Secretary-General.

Article 52 A State Party may denounce the present Convention by written
notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Denunciation
becomes effective one year after the date of receipt of the notification by the
Secretary-General.

Article 53 The Secretary-General of the United Nations is designated as the
depositary of the present Convention.

Article 54 The original of the present Convention, of which the Arabic,
Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish text are equally authentic, shall
be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.



In witness thereof the undersigned plenipotentiaries, being duly
authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have signed the present
Convention.