DEFINITION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Human rights are universal legal guarantees

protecting individuals and groups against actions
and omissions that interfere with fundamental
freedoms, entitlements and human dignity. Human
rights law obliges Governments (principally) and
other duty-bearers to do certain things and
prevents them from doing others.

HUMAN RIGHTS PRINCIPLES

Human rights are universal and inalienable;
indivisible; interdependent and interrelated. They
are universal because everyone is born with and
possesses the same rights, regardless of where
they live, their gender or race, or their religious,
cultural or ethnic background. Inalienable because
peoples rights can never be taken away. Indivisible
and interdependent because all rights political,
civil, social, cultural and economic are equal in
importance and none can be fully enjoyed without
the others. They apply to all equally, and all have
the right to participate in decisions that affect their
lives. They are upheld by the rule of law and
strengthened through legitimate claims for dutybearers to be accountable to international
standards.
Universality and Inalienability: Human rights
are universal and inalienable. All people
everywhere in the world are entitled to them. The
universality of human rights is encompassed in the
words of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights: All human
beings are born free and equal in dignity and
rights.
Indivisibility: Human rights are indivisible.
Whether they relate to civil, cultural, economic,
political or social issues, human rights are
inherent to the dignity of every human person.
Consequently, all human rights have equal status,
and cannot be positioned in a hierarchical order.
Denial of one right invariably impedes enjoyment of
other rights. Thus, the right of everyone to an
adequate standard of living cannot be compromised
at the expense of other rights, such as the right to
health or the right to education.

Interdependence and Interrelatedness: Human

rights are interdependent and interrelated. Each
one contributes to the realization of a persons
human dignity through the satisfaction of his or
her developmental, physical, psychological and
spiritual needs. The fulfilment of one right often
depends, wholly or in part, upon the fulfilment of
others. For instance, fulfilment of the right to
health may depend, in certain circumstances, on
fulfilment of the right to development, to education
or to information.
Equality and Non-discrimination: All individuals
are equal as human beings and by virtue of the
inherent dignity of each human person. No one,
therefore, should suffer discrimination on the basis
of race, colour, ethnicity, gender, age, language,
sexual orientation, religion, political or other
opinion, national, social or geographical origin,
disability, property, birth or other status as
established by human rights standards.
Participation and Inclusion: All people have the
right to participate in and access information
relating to the decision-making processes that
affect their lives and well-being. Rights-based
approaches require a high degree of participation
by communities, civil society, minorities, women,
young people, indigenous peoples and other
identified groups.
Accountability and Rule of Law: States and
other duty-bearers are answerable for the
observance of human rights. In this regard, they
have to comply with the legal norms and standards
enshrined
in
international
human
rights
instruments. Where they fail to do so, aggrieved
rights-holders are entitled to institute proceedings
for appropriate redress before a competent court or
other adjudicator in accordance with the rules and
procedures provided by law. Individuals, the media,
civil society and the international community play
important
roles
in
holding
governments
accountable for their obligation to uphold human
rights. UNFPA supports the integration of human
rights standards into all stages of its programming
framework, including:

Analyzing the immediate, underlying and

structural
causes
of
human
rights
violations
Setting strategies and goals to address the
main causes of human rights violations and
to empower the most vulnerable people as
well as to reinforce the capacity of duty
bearers.
Supporting initiatives for the establishment
or improvement of an enabling legal and
social framework on population and
development, reproductive health and
gender equality
Following the recommendations of UN
treaty bodies such as the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination Against
Women
Evaluating and monitoring programmes
with participatory processes and using
human rights
indicators

UNFPA also recognizes that a rights-based

approach should be founded on an analysis of
gender and social exclusion to ensure that
programmes reach marginal and vulnerable
segments of the population, especially poor women
and young people.

HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS

1. The Human Rights Committee (CCPR)

on

Economic,

Social

and

3. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial

Discrimination (CERD)
4. The
Committee
on
Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW)

the

Elimination

7. The Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW)

8. The Committee on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities (CRPD)
(SEE PDF FILE)
THE INTERNATIONAL BILL OF RIGHTS
(SEE PDF FILE)

RIGHTS IN THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF

HUMAN RIGHTS
Preamble
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of
the equal and inalienable rights of all members of
the human family is the foundation of freedom,
justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights
have resulted in barbarous acts which have
outraged the conscience of mankind, and the
advent of a world in which human beings shall
enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom
from fear and want has been proclaimed as the
highest aspiration of the common
people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be
compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to
rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that
human rights should be
protected by the rule of law,

The eight human rights treaty bodies are:

2. The Committee
Cultural
Rights (CESCR)

6. The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

of

5. The Committee Against Torture (CAT) & Optional

Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT)
- Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture

Whereas it is essential to promote the development

of friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in
the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental
human rights, in the dignity and worth of the
human person and in the equal rights of men and
women and have determined to promote social
progress and better
standards of life in larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves
to achieve, in cooperation with the United Nations,
the promotion of universal respect for and
observance of

human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights
and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the
full
realization of this pledge,
Now, therefore,
The General Assembly,
Proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human
Rights as a common standard of achievement for
all peoples and all nations, to the end that every
individual and every organ of society, keeping this
Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by
teaching and education to promote respect for
these rights and freedoms and by progressive
measures, national and international, to secure
their universal and effective recognition and
observance, both among the peoples of Member
States themselves and among the peoples of
territories under their jurisdiction.

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel,

inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 6
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere
as a
person before the law.
Article 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled
without any discrimination to equal protection of
the law. All are entitled to equal protection against
any discrimination in violation of this Declaration
and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article I
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity
and rights. They are endowed with reason and
conscience and should act towards one another in
a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 8
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by
the competent national tribunals for acts violating
the fundamental rights granted him by the
constitution or by law.
Article 9
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest,
detention or exile.
Article 10
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and
public hearing by an independent and impartial
tribunal, in the determination of his rights and
obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms
set forth in this Declaration, 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.
Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the
basis of the political, jurisdictional or international
status of the country or territory to which a person
belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-selfgoverning or under any other limitation of
sovereignty.

Article 11
1. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the
right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty
according to law in a public trial at which he has
had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
2. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on
account of any act or omission which did not
constitute a penal offence, under national or
international law, at the time when it was
committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed
than the one that was applicable at the time the
penal offence was committed.

Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security
of person.
Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery
and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their
forms.

Article 12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference
with his privacy, family, home or correspondence,
nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation.
Everyone has the right to the protection of the law
against such interference or attacks.

Article 5

Article 13
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement
and residence within the borders of each State.

2. Everyone has the right to leave any country,

including his own, and to return to his country.
Article 14
1. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in
other countries asylum from persecution.
2. This right may not be invoked in the case of
prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political
crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and
principles of the United Nations.
Article 15
1. Everyone has the right to a nationality.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his
nationality nor denied the right to change his
nationality.
Article 16
1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation
due to race, nationality or religion, have the right
to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to
equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and
at its dissolution.
2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free
and full consent of the intending spouses.
3. The family is the natural and fundamental group
unit of society and is entitled to protection by
society and the State.
Article 17
1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as
well as in association with others.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his
property.
Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion; this right includes
freedom to change his religion or belief, and
freedom, either alone or in community with others
and in public or private, to manifest his religion or
belief in teaching, practice, worship and
observance.
Article 19
Everyone has the
right to freedom of opinion and expression; this
right includes freedom to hold opinions without
interference and to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas through any media and
regardless of frontiers.
Article 20

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful

assembly and association.
2. No one may be compelled to belong to an
association.
Article 21
1. Everyone has the right to take part in the
government of his country, directly or through
freely chosen representatives.
2. Everyone has the right to equal access to public
service in his country.
3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the
authority of government; this will shall be
expressed in periodic and genuine elections which
shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall
be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting
procedures.
Article 22
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to
social security and is entitled to realization,
through national effort and international cooperation and in accordance with the organization
and resources of each State, of the economic,
social and cultural rights indispensable for his
dignity and the free development of his personality.
Article 23
1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of
employment, to just and favourable conditions of
work and to protection against unemployment.
2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the
right to equal pay for equal work.
3. Everyone who works has the right to just and
favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and
his family an existence worthy of human dignity,
and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of
social protection.
4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade
unions for the protection of his interests.
Article 24
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure,
including reasonable limitation of working hours
and periodic holidays with pay.
Article 25
1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living
adequate for the health and well-being of himself
and of his family, including food, clothing, housing
and medical care and necessary social services,
and the right to security in the event of

unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood,

old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances
beyond his control.
2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special
care and assistance. All children, whether born in
or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social
protection.
Article 26
1. Everyone has the right to education. Education
shall be free, at least in the elementary and
fundamental stages. Elementary education shall
be compulsory. Technical and professional
education shall be made generally available and
higher education shall be equally accessible to all
on the basis of merit.
2. Education shall be directed to the full development
of the human personality and to the strengthening
of respect for human rights and fundamental
freedoms. It shall promote understanding,
tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial
or religious groups, and shall further the activities
of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of
education that shall be given to their children.
Article 27
1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the
cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts
and to share in scientific advancement and its
benefits.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the
moral and material interests resulting from any
scientific, literary or artistic production of which
he is the author.
Article 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international
order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in
this Declaration can be fully realized.
Article 29
1. Everyone has duties to the community in which
alone the free and full development of his
personality is possible.
2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone
shall be subject only to such limitations as are
determined by law solely for the purpose of
securing due recognition and respect for the rights
and freedoms of others and of meeting the just

requirements of morality, public order and the

general welfare in a democratic society.
3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be
exercised contrary to the purposes and principles
of the United Nations.
Article 30
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as
implying for any State, group or person any right to
engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed
at the destruction of any of the rights and
freedoms set forth herein.

THE
CORE
INTERNATIONAL
RIGHTS TREATIES

HUMAN

1. The International Covenant on Civil and

Political Rights (ICCPR) (1976)
2. The International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) (1976)
3. The International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination (ICERD)
(1969)
4. The Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW)
(1981)
5. The Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment (CAT) (1987)
6. The Convention on the Rights of the Child
(CRC)
(1990)
7. The International Convention on the
Protection of the Rights of All Migrant
Workers and Members of their Families
(ICRMW) (2003)
8. The International Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities (2008)

9. The International Convention for the

Protection of All Persons from Enforced
Disappearance (This treaty had not entered
into force as of June
2008.)

THE HUMAN
DEFINITION

RIGHTS-BASED

APPROACHED

A human rights-based approach is a conceptual

framework for the process of human development
that is normatively based on international human
rights standards and operationally directed to
promoting and protecting human rights. It seeks to
analyse inequalities which lie at the heart of
development problems and redress discriminatory
practices and unjust distributions of power that
impede development progress.

THE MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

End Poverty and Hunger

Universal Education
Gender Equality Child Health
Maternal Health
Combat HIV/AIDS
Environmental Sustainability
Global Partnership

CATEGORIES OF CHILDRENS RIGHTS AND

WHAT COMPOSES EACH CATEGORY

PROTECTION RIGHTS: KEEPING SAFE FROM

HARM
Article 4 (Protection of rights): Governments
have a responsibility to take all available measures
to make sure childrens rights are respected,
protected and fulfilled. When countries ratify the
Convention, they agree to review their laws relating
to children. This involves assessing their social
services, legal, health and educational systems, as
well as levels of funding for these services.
Governments are then obliged to take all necessary
steps to ensure that the minimum standards set by
the Convention in these areas are being met. They
must help families protect childrens rights and
create an environment where they can grow and

reach their potential. In some instances, this may

involve changing existing laws or creating new
ones. Such legislative changes are not imposed, but
come about through the same process by which
any law is created or reformed within a country.
Article 41 of the Convention points out the when a
country already has higher legal standards than
those seen in the Convention, the higher standards
always prevail. (See Optional Protocol pages.)
Article 11 (Kidnapping): Governments should
take steps to stop children being taken out of their
own country illegally. This article is particularly
concerned
with
parental
abductions.
The
Conventions Optional Protocol on the sale of
children, child prostitution and child pornography
has a provision that concerns abduction for
financial gain.
Article 19 (Protection from all forms of
violence): Children have the right to be protected
from being hurt and mistreated, physically or
mentally. Governments should ensure that
children are properly cared for and protect them
from violence, abuse and neglect by their parents,
or anyone else who looks after them. In terms of
discipline, the Convention does not specify what
forms of punishment parents should use. However
any form of discipline involving violence is
unacceptable. There are ways to discipline children
that are effective in helping children learn about
family and social expectations for their behaviour
ones that are non-violent, are appropriate to the
child's level of development and take the best
interests of the child into consideration. In most
countries, laws already define what sorts of
punishments are considered excessive or abusive.
It is up to each government to review these laws in
light of the Convention.
Article 20 (Children deprived of family
environment): Children who cannot be looked
after by their own family have a right to special
care and must be looked after properly, by people
who respect their ethnic group, religion, culture
and language.
Article 21 (Adoption): Children have the right to
care and protection if they are adopted or in foster
care. The first concern must be what is best for
them. The same rules should apply whether they
are adopted in the country where they were born,
or if they are taken to live in another country.

Article 22 (Refugee children): Children have the

right to special protection and help if they are
refugees (if they have been forced to leave their
home and live in another country), as well as all
the rights in this Convention.
Article 32 (Child labour): The government should
protect children from work that is dangerous or
might harm their health or their education. While
the Convention protects children from harmful and
exploitative work, there is nothing in it that
prohibits parents from expecting their children to
help out at home in ways that are safe and
appropriate to their age. If children help out in a
family farm or business, the tasks they do be safe
and suited to their level of development and comply
with national labour laws. Children's work should
not jeopardize any of their other rights, including
the right to education, or the right to relaxation
and play.
Article 33 (Drug abuse): Governments should use
all means possible to protect children from the use
of harmful drugs and from being used in the drug
trade.
Article 34 (Sexual exploitation): Governments
should protect children from all forms of sexual
exploitation and abuse. This provision in the
Convention is augmented by the Optional Protocol
on the sale of children, child prostitution and child
pornography. (See Optional
Protocol pages.)
Article 35 (Abduction, sale and trafficking): The
government should take all measures possible to
make sure that children are not abducted, sold or
trafficked. This provision in the Convention is
augmented by the Optional Protocol on the sale of
children, child prostitution and child pornography.
(See Optional
Protocol pages.)
Article 36 (Other forms of exploitation):
Children should be protected from any activity that
takes advantage of them or could harm their
welfare and development.
Article 37 (Detention and punishment): No one
is allowed to punish children in a cruel or harmful
way. Children who break the law should not be
treated cruelly. They should not be put in prison
with adults, should be able to keep in contact with

their families, and should not be sentenced to

death or life imprisonment without possibility of
release.
Article
38
(War
and
armed
conflicts):
Governments must do everything they can to
protect and care for children affected by war.
Children under 15 should not be forced or
recruited to take part in a war or join the armed
forces. The Conventions Optional Protocol on the
involvement of children in armed conflict further
develops this right, raising the age for direct
participation in armed conflict to 18 and
establishing a ban on compulsory recruitment for
children under 18.
Article 39 (Rehabilitation of child victims):
Children who have been neglected, abused or
exploited should receive special help to physically
and psychologically recover and reintegrate into
society. Particular attention should be paid to
restoring the health, self-respect and dignity of the
child.
Article 40 (Juvenile justice): Children who are
accused of breaking the law have the right to legal
help and fair treatment in a justice system that
respects their rights. Governments are required to
set a minimum age below which children cannot be
held criminally responsible and to provide
minimum guarantees for the fairness and quick
resolution of judicial or alternative proceedings.
Article 41 (Respect for superior national
standards):
If the laws of a country provide better protection
of childrens rights than the articles in this
Convention, those laws should apply.

SURVIVAL AND DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS: THE

BASIC RIGHTS TO LIFE, SURVIVAL AND
DEVELOPMENT OF ONES FULL POTENTIAL
Article 4 (Protection of rights): Governments
have a responsibility to take all available measures
to make sure childrens rights are respected,
protected and fulfilled. When countries ratify the
Convention, they agree to review their laws relating
to children. This involves assessing their social
services, legal, health and educational systems, as
well as levels of funding for these services.
Governments are then obliged to take all necessary

steps to ensure that the minimum standards set by

the Convention in these areas are being met. They
must help families protect childrens rights and
create an environment where they can grow and
reach their potential. In some instances, this may
involve changing existing laws or creating new
ones. Such legislative changes are not imposed, but
come about through the same process by which
any law is created or reformed within a country.
Article 41 of the Convention points out the when a
country already has higher legal standards than
those seen in the Convention, the higher standards
always prevail. (See Optional Protocol pages.)
Article 5 (Parental guidance): Governments
should respect the rights and responsibilities of
families to direct and guide their children so that,
as they grow, they learn to use their rights
properly. Helping children to understand their
rights does not mean pushing them to make
choices with consequences that they are too young
to handle. Article 5 encourages parents to deal
with rights issues "in a manner consistent with the
evolving capacities of the child". The Convention
does not take responsibility for children away from
their parents and give more authority to
governments. It does place on governments the
responsibility to protect and assist families in
fulfilling their essential role as nurturers of
children.
Article 6 (Survival and development): Children
have the right to live. Governments should ensure
that children survive and develop healthily.
Article 7 (Registration, name, nationality, care):
All children have the right to a legally registered
name, officially recognised by the government.
Children have the right to a nationality (to belong
to a country). Children also have the right to know
and, as far as possible, to be cared for by their
parents.
Article 8 (Preservation of identity): Children
have the right to an identity an official record of
who they are. Governments should respect
childrens right to a name, a nationality and family
ties.
Article 9 (Separation from parents): Children
have the right to live with their parent(s), unless it

is bad for them. Children whose parents do not live

together have the right to stay in contact with both
parents, unless this might hurt the child.
Article 10 (Family reunification): Families whose
members live in different countries should be
allowed to move between those countries so that
parents and children can stay in contact, or get
back together as a family.
Article 14 (Freedom of thought, conscience and
religion): Children have the right to think and
believe what they want and to practise their
religion, as long as they are not stopping other
people from enjoying their rights. Parents should
help guide their children in these matters. The
Convention respects the rights and duties of
parents in providing religious and moral guidance
to their children. Religious groups around the
world have expressed support for the Convention,
which indicates that it in no way prevents parents
from bringing their children up within a religious
tradition. At the same time, the Convention
recognizes that as children mature and are able to
form their own views, some may question certain
religious practices or cultural traditions. The
Convention supports children's right to examine
their beliefs, but it also states that their right to
express their beliefs implies respect for the rights
and freedoms of others.
Article 18 (Parental responsibilities; state
assistance): Both parents share responsibility for
bringing up their children, and should always
consider what is best for each child. Governments
must respect the responsibility of parents for
providing appropriate guidance to their children
the Convention does not take responsibility for
children away from their parents and give more
authority to governments. It places a responsibility
on governments to provide support services to
parents, especially if both parents work outside the
home.
Article 20 (Children deprived of family
environment): Children who cannot be looked
after by their own family have a right to special
care and must be looked after properly, by people
who respect their ethnic group, religion, culture
and language.

Article 22 (Refugee children): Children have the

right to special protection and help if they are
refugees (if they have been forced to leave their
home and live in another country), as well as all
the rights in the Convention.
Article 23 (Children with disabilities): Children
who have any kind of disability have the right to
special care and support, as well as all the rights
in the Convention, so that they can live full and
independent lives.
Article 24 (Health and health services): Children
have the right to good quality health care the best
health care possible to safe drinking water,
nutritious food, a clean and safe environment, and
information to help them stay healthy. Rich
countries should help poorer countries achieve
this.
Article 25 (Review of treatment in care):
Children who are looked after by their local
authorities, rather than their parents, have the
right to have these living arrangements looked at
regularly to see if they are the most appropriate.
Their care and treatment should always be based
on the best interests of the child. (see
Guiding Principles, Article 3)
Article 26 (Social security): Children either
through their guardians or directly have the right
to help from the government if they are poor or in
need.
Article 27 (Adequate standard of living):
Children have the right to a standard of living that
is good enough to meet their physical and mental
needs. Governments should help families and
guardians who cannot afford to provide this,
particularly with regard to food, clothing and
housing.
Article 28: (Right to education): All children have
the right to a primary education, which should be
free. Wealthy countries should help poorer
countries achieve this right. Discipline in schools
should respect childrens dignity. For children to
benefit from education, schools must be run in an
orderly way without the use of violence. Any form
of school discipline should take into account the
child's human dignity. Therefore, governments

must ensure that school administrators review

their discipline policies and eliminate any
discipline practices involving physical or mental
violence, abuse or neglect. The Convention places a
high value on education. Young people should be
encouraged to reach the highest level of education
of which they are capable.
Article 29 (Goals of education): Childrens
education should develop each childs personality,
talents and abilities to the fullest. It should
encourage children to respect others, human rights
and their own and other cultures. It should also
help them learn to live peacefully, protect the
environment and respect other people. Children
have a particular responsibility to respect the
rights their parents, and education should aim to
develop respect for the values and culture of their
parents. The Convention does not address such
issues as school uniforms, dress codes, the singing
of the national anthem or prayer in schools. It is
up to governments and school officials in each
country to determine whether, in the context of
their society and existing laws, such matters
infringe upon other rights protected by the
Convention.
Article 30 (Children of minorities/indigenous
groups): Minority or indigenous children have the
right to learn about and practice their own culture,
language and religion. The right to practice ones
own culture, language and religion applies to
everyone; the Convention here highlights this right
in instances where the practices are not shared by
the majority of people in the country.
Article 31 (Leisure, play and culture): Children
have the right to relax and play, and to join in a
wide range of cultural, artistic and other
recreational activities.
Article 42 (Knowledge of rights): Governments
should make the Convention known to adults and
children. Adults should help children learn about
their rights, too.
(See Protection rights, article 4.)

PARTICIPATION RIGHTS: HAVING AN ACTIVE

VOICE

Article 4 (Protection of rights): Governments

have a responsibility to take all available measures
to make sure childrens rights are respected,
protected and fulfilled. When countries ratify the
Convention, they agree to review their laws relating
to children. This involves assessing their social
services, legal, health and educational systems, as
well as levels of funding for these services.
Governments are then obliged to take all necessary
steps to ensure that the minimum standards set by
the Convention in these areas are being met. They
must help families protect childrens rights and
create an environment where they can grow and
reach their potential. In some instances, this may
involve changing existing laws or creating new
ones. Such legislative changes are not imposed, but
come about through the same process by which
any law is created or reformed within a country.
Article 41 of the Convention points out the when a
country already has higher legal standards than
those seen in the Convention, the higher standards
always prevail. (See Optional Protocol pages.)
Article 12 (Respect for the views of the child):
When adults are making decisions that affect
children, children have the right to say what they
think should happen and have their opinions taken
into account.
Article 13 (Freedom of expression): Children
have the right to get and share information, as long
as the information is not damaging to them or
others. In exercising the right to freedom of
expression, children have the responsibility to also
respect the rights, freedoms and reputations of
others. The freedom of expression includes the
right to share information in any way they choose,
including by talking, drawing or writing.
Article 14 (Freedom of thought, conscience and
religion): Children have the right to think and
believe what they want and to practice their
religion, as long as they are not stopping other
people from enjoying their rights. Parents should
help guide their children in these matters. The
Convention respects the rights and duties of
parents in providing religious and moral guidance
to their children. Religious groups around the
world have expressed support for the Convention,
which indicates that it in no way prevents parents
from bringing their children up within a religious
tradition. At the same time, the Convention
recognizes that as children mature and are able to
form their own views, some may question certain

religious practices or cultural traditions. The

Convention supports children's right to examine
their beliefs, but it also states that their right to
express their beliefs implies respect for the rights
and freedoms of others.
Article 15 (Freedom of association): Children
have the right to meet together and to join groups
and organisations, as long as it does not stop other
people from enjoying their rights. In exercising
their rights, children have the responsibility to
respect the rights, freedoms and reputations of
others.
Article 16 (Right to privacy): Children have a
right to privacy. The law should protect them from
attacks against their way of life, their good name,
their families and their homes.
Article 17 (Access to information; mass media):
Children have the right to get information that is
important to their health and well-being.
Governments should encourage mass media
radio, television, newspapers and Internet content
sources to provide information that children can
understand and to not promote materials that
could harm children. Mass media should
particularly be encouraged to supply information
in languages that minority and indigenous children
can understand. Children should also have access
to childrens books.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF THE CRC FEATURES

OF THE CRC
(1) The first UNIVERSAL LEGALLY BINDING code of
child rights in history
(2) MOST RATIFIED UN treaty/convention
(3) UNPRECEDENTED RAPIDITY in signing and
entry into force
(4) MOST COMPREHENSIVE International human
rights instrument
(5) INTERDEPENDENCE
childrens rights

&

INDIVISIBILITY

of

(6) Lays down common standards but flexible in

implementation
(7) CULTURE SENSITIVE
(8) Incorporates NEW ATTITUDES towards children
IDENTIFICATION
PROTOCOLS

OF

THE

CRC

OPTIONAL

OPTIONAL PROTOCOLS TO CRC

(i) Optional Protocol to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child
prostitution and child pornography

The States Parties to the present Protocol,

Considering that, in order further to achieve the
purposes of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child1 and the implementation of its provisions,
especially articles 1, 11, 21, 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36,
it would be appropriate to extend the measures
that States Parties should undertake in order to
guarantee the protection of the child from the sale
of children, child prostitution and
child pornography,
Considering also that the Convention on the Rights
of the Child recognizes 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,
Gravely concerned at the significant and increasing
international traffic in children for the purpose of
the sale of children, child prostitution and child
pornography,
Deeply concerned at the widespread and
continuing practice of sex tourism, to which
children are especially vulnerable, as it directly
promotes the sale of children,
child prostitution and child pornography,
Recognizing that a number of particularly
vulnerable groups, including girl children, are at
greater risk of sexual exploitation and that girl
children are disproportionately represented among
the sexually
exploited,
Concerned about the growing availability of child
pornography on the Internet and other evolving
technologies, and recalling the International
Conference on Combating Child Pornography on

the Internet, held in Vienna in 1999, in particular

its
conclusion
calling
for
the
worldwide
criminalization of the production, distribution,
exportation, transmission, importation, intentional
possession and advertising of child pornography,
and stressing the importance of closer cooperation
and partnership between Governments and
the Internet industry,
Believing that the elimination of the sale of
children, child prostitution and child pornography
will be facilitated by adopting a holistic approach,
addressing the contributing factors, including
underdevelopment, poverty, economic disparities,
inequitable
socioeconomic
structure,
dysfunctioning families, lack of education, urbanrural
migration,
gender
discrimination,
irresponsible adult sexual behaviour, harmful
traditional
practices, armed conflicts and trafficking in
children,
Believing also that efforts to raise public awareness
are needed to reduce consumer demand for the
sale of children, child prostitution and child
pornography, and believing further in the
importance of strengthening global partnership
among all actors and of improving law enforcement
at the national level,
Noting the provisions of international legal
instruments relevant to the protection of children,
including the Hague Convention on Protection of
Children and
Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption,
the
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of
International
Child Abduction, the Hague Convention on
Jurisdiction,
Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and
Cooperation in Respect of Parental Responsibility
and
Measures for the Protection of Children, and
International Labour Organization Convention No.
182 on the Prohibition and Immediate Action for
the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child
Labour,
Encouraged by the overwhelming support for the

Convention on the Rights of the Child,

demonstrating
the widespread commitment that exists for the
promotion and protection of the rights of the child,
Recognizing the importance of the implementation
of the provisions of the Programme of Action for
the Prevention of the Sale of Children, Child
Prostitution and Child Pornography and the
Declaration and Agenda for Action adopted at
the
World Congress against Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children, held in Stockholm
from 27 to 31 August 1996, and the other
relevant decisions and recommendations of
pertinent international bodies, Taking due account
of the importance of the traditions and cultural
values of each people for the protection and
harmonious development of the child, Have agreed
as follows:

Article 1
States Parties shall prohibit the sale of children,
child prostitution and child pornography as
provided for by the present Protocol.

Article 2
For the purposes of the present Protocol: (a) Sale
of children means any act or transaction whereby
a child is transferred by any person or group of
persons to another for remuneration or any other
consideration;
(b) Child prostitution means the use of a child in
sexual activities for remuneration or any other
form of consideration;
(c) Child pornography means any representation, by
whatever means, of a child engaged in real or
simulated explicit sexual activities or any
representation of the sexual parts of a child for
primarily sexual purposes.

Article 3
1. Each State Party shall ensure that, as a
minimum, the following acts and activities are fully
covered under its criminal or penal law, whether
such offences are committed domestically or
transnationally or on an individual or organized
basis:

(a) In the context of sale of children as defined in

article 2:
(i) Offering, delivering or accepting, by whatever
means, a child for the purpose of:
a. Sexual exploitation of the child;
b. Transfer of organs of the child for profit;
c. Engagement of the child in forced labour; (ii)
Improperly
inducing
consent,
as
an
intermediary, for the adoption of a child in
violation of applicable international legal
instruments on adoption; (b) Offering, obtaining,
procuring or providing a child for child
prostitution, as defined in article 2; (c)
Producing,
distributing,
disseminating,
importing, exporting, offering, selling or
possessing for the above purposes child
pornography as defined in article 2. 2. Subject to
the provisions of the national law of a State
Party, the same shall apply to an attempt to
commit any of the said acts and to complicity or
participation in any of the said acts.
3. Each State Party shall make such offences
punishable by appropriate penalties that take into
account their grave nature.
4. Subject to the provisions of its national law, each
State
Party
shall
take
measures,
where
appropriate, to establish the liability of legal
persons for offences established in paragraph 1 of
the present article. Subject to the legal principles
of the State Party, such liability of legal persons
may be criminal, civil or administrative. 5. States
Parties shall take all appropriate legal and
administrative measures to ensure that all persons
involved in the adoption of a child act in conformity
with applicable international legal instruments.

Article 4
1. Each State Party shall take such measures as may
be necessary to establish its jurisdiction over the
offences referred to in article 3, paragraph 1, when
the offences are commited in its territory or on
board a ship or aircraft registered in that State.
2. Each State Party may take such measures as may
be necessary to establish its jurisdiction over the
offences referred to in article 3, paragraph 1, in the
following cases:
(a) When the alleged offender is a national of that
State or a person who has his habitual
residence in its territory;
(b) When the victim is a national of that State.

3. Each State Party shall also take such measures as

may be necessary to establish its jurisdiction over
the aforementioned offences when the alleged
offender is present in its territory and it does not
extradite him or her to another State Party on the
ground that the offence has been committed by
one of its nationals.
4. The present Protocol does not exclude any criminal
jurisdiction exercised in accordance with internal
law.

Article 5
1. The offences referred to in article 3, paragraph 1,
shall be deemed to be included as extraditable
offences in any extradition treaty existing between
States Parties and shall be included as extraditable
offences in every extradition treaty subsequently
concluded between them, in accordance with the
conditions set forth in such treaties.
2. If a State Party that makes extradition conditional
on the existence of a treaty receives a request for
extradition from another State Party with which it
has no extradition treaty, it may consider the
present Protocol to be a legal basis for extradition
in respect of such offences. Extradition shall be
subject to the conditions provided by the law of the
requested State.
3. States Parties that do not make extradition
conditional on the existence of a treaty shall
recognize such offences as extraditable offences
between themselves subject to the conditions
provided by the law of the requested State.
4. Such offences shall be treated, for the purpose of
extradition between States Parties, as if they had
been committed not only in the place in which they
occurred but also in the territories of the States
required to establish their jurisdiction in
accordance with article 4. 5. If an extradition
request is made with respect to an offence
described in article 3, paragraph 1, and the
requested State Party does not or will not extradite
on the basis of the nationality of the offender, that
State shall take suitable measures to submit the
case to its competent authorities for the purpose of
prosecution.

Article 6
1. States Parties shall afford one another the greatest
measure of assistance in connection with
investigations
or
criminal
or
extradition

proceedings brought in respect of the offences set

forth in article 3, paragraph 1, including
assistance in obtaining evidence at their disposal
necessary for the proceedings.
2. States Parties shall carry out their obligations
under paragraph 1 of the present article in
conformity with any treaties or other arrangements
on mutual legal assistance that may exist between
them. In the absence of such treaties or
arrangements, States Parties shall afford one
another assistance in accordance with their
domestic law.

Article 7
States Parties shall, subject to the provisions of
their national law:
(a) Take measures to provide for the seizure and
confiscation, as appropriate, of: (i) Goods, such as
materials, assets and other instrumentalities used
to commit or facilitate offences under the present
protocol; (ii) Proceeds derived from such offences;
(b) Execute requests from another State Party for
seizure or confiscation of goods or proceeds
referred to in subparagraph (a);
(c) Take measures aimed at closing, on a temporary
or definitive basis, premises used to commit such
offences.

Article 8
1. States Parties shall adopt appropriate measures
to protect the rights and interests of child victims
of the practices prohibited under the present
Protocol at all stages of the criminal justice
process, in particular by: (a) Recognizing the
vulnerability of child victims and adapting
procedures to recognize their special needs,
including their special needs as witnesses; (b)
Informing child victims of their rights, their role
and the scope, timing and progress of the
proceedings and of the disposition of their cases;
(c) Allowing the views, needs and concerns of
child victims to be presented and considered in
proceedings where their personal interests are
affected, in a manner consistent with the
procedural rules of national law; (d) Providing
appropriate support services to child victims
throughout the legal process;
(e) Protecting, as appropriate, the privacy and identity
of child victims and taking measures in accordance
with national law to avoid the inappropriate

(f)

2.

3.

5.

6.

dissemination of information that could lead to the

identification of child victims;
Providing, in appropriate cases, for the safety of
child victims, as well as that of their families and
witnesses on their behalf, from intimidation and
retaliation; (g) Avoiding unnecessary delay in the
disposition of cases and the execution of orders or
decrees granting compensation to child victims.
States Parties shall ensure that uncertainty as to
the actual age of the victim shall not prevent the
initiation of criminal investigations, including
investigations aimed at establishing the age of the
victim.
States Parties shall ensure that, in the treatment
by the criminal justice system of children who are
victims of the offences described in the present
Protocol, the best interest of the child shall be a
primary consideration. 4. States Parties shall take
measures to ensure appropriate training, in
particular legal and psychological training, for the
persons who work with victims of the offences
prohibited under the present Protocol.
States Parties shall, in appropriate cases, adopt
measures in order to protect the safety and
integrity of those persons and/or organizations
involved in the prevention and/or protection and
rehabilitation of victims of such offences.
Nothing in the present article shall be construed to
be prejudicial to or inconsistent with the rights of
the accused to a fair and impartial trial.

Article 9
1. States Parties shall adopt or strengthen, implement
and disseminate laws, administrative measures,
social policies and programmes to prevent the
offences referred to in the present Protocol.
Particular attention shall be given to protect
children who are especially vulnerable to such
practices.
2. States Parties shall promote awareness in the
public at large, including children, through
information by all appropriate means, education
and training, about the preventive measures and
harmful effects of the offences referred to in the
present Protocol. In fulfilling their obligations
under this article, States Parties shall encourage
the participation of the community and, in
particular, children and child victims, in such
information
and
education
and
training
programmes, including at the international level.

3. States Parties shall take all feasible measures with

the aim of ensuring all appropriate assistance to
victims of such offences, including their full social
reintegration and their full physical and
psychological recovery.
4. States Parties shall ensure that all child victims of
the offences described in the present Protocol have
access to adequate procedures to seek, without
discrimination, compensation for damages from
those legally responsible. 5. States Parties shall
take appropriate measures aimed at effectively
prohibiting the production and dissemination of
material advertising the offences described in the
present Protocol.

Article 10
1. States Parties shall take all necessary steps to
strengthen
international
cooperation
by
multilateral, regional and bilateral arrangements
for the prevention, detection, investigation,
prosecution and punishment of those responsible
for acts involving the sale of children, child
prostitution, child pornography and child sex
tourism. States Parties shall also promote
international
cooperation
and
coordination
between
their
authorities,
national
and
international non-governmental organizations and
international organizations.
2. States
Parties
shall
promote
international
cooperation to assist child victims in their physical
and psychological recovery, social reintegration and
repatriation.
3. States Parties shall promote the strengthening of
international cooperation in order to address the
root
causes,
such
as
poverty
and
underdevelopment,
contributing
to
the
vulnerability of children to the sale of children,
child prostitution, child pornography and child sex
tourism.
4. States Parties in a position to do so shall provide
financial, technical or other assistance through
existing multilateral, regional, bilateral or other
programmes.

Article 11
Nothing in the present Protocol shall affect any
provisions that are more conducive to the
realization of the rights of the child and that may
be contained in:
(a) The law of a State Party;

(b) International law in force for that State.

Article 12
1. Each State Party shall, within two years following
the entry into force of the present Protocol for that
State Party, submit a report to the Committee on
the Rights of the Child providing comprehensive
information on the measures it has taken to
implement the provisions of the Protocol.
2. Following the submission of the comprehensive
report, each State Party shall include in the
reports they submit to the Committee on the
Rights of the Child, in accordance with article 44
of the Convention, any further information with
respect to the implementation of the present
Protocol. Other States Parties to the Protocol shall
submit a report every five years.
3. The Committee on the Rights of the Child may
request from States Parties further information
relevant to the implementation of the present
Protocol.

Article 13
1. The present Protocol is open for signature by any
State that is a party to the Convention or has
signed it. 2. The present Protocol is subject to
ratification and is open to accession by any State
that is a party to the Convention or has signed it.
Instruments of ratification or accession shall be
deposited with the SecretaryGeneral of the United
Nations.

Article 14
1. The present Protocol shall enter into force three
months after the deposit of the tenth instrument of
ratification or accession.
2. For each State ratifying the present Protocol or
acceding to it after its entry into force, the Protocol
shall enter into force one month after the date of
the deposit of its own instrument of ratification or
accession.

Article 15
1. Any State Party may denounce the present Protocol
at any time by written notification to the SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations, who shall thereafter
inform the other States Parties to the Convention
and all States that have signed the Convention.

The denunciation shall take effect one year after

the date of receipt of the notification by the
Secretary-General.
2. Such a denunciation shall not have the effect of
releasing the State Party from its obligations under
the present Protocol in regard to any offence that
occurs prior to the date on which the denunciation
becomes effective. Nor shall such a denunciation
prejudice in any way the continued consideration
of any matter that is already under consideration
by the Committee on the Rights of the Child prior
to the date on which the denunciation becomes
effective.

Article 16
1. Any State Party may propose an amendment and
file it with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations. 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
third 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 of the
United Nations 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 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 that have accepted
it, other States Parties still being bound by the
provisions of the present Protocol and any earlier
amendments they have accepted.

Article 17
1. The present Protocol, of which the Arabic, Chinese,
English, French, Russian and Spanish texts are
equally authentic, shall be deposited in the
archives of the United Nations.
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall
transmit certified copies of the present Protocol to

all States Parties to the Convention and all States

that have signed the Convention.
(ii) Optional Protocol to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child on the involvement of
children in armed conflict

The States Parties to the present Protocol,

Encouraged by the overwhelming support for the
Convention on the Rights of the Child,
demonstrating the widespread commitment that
exists to strive for the
promotion and protection of the rights of the child,
Reaffirming that the rights of children require
special protection, and calling for continuous
improvement of the situation of children without
distinction, as well as for their development and
education in conditions of peace and security,
Disturbed by the harmful and widespread impact
of armed conflict on children and the long-term
consequences it has for durable peace, security
and development,
Condemning the targeting of children in situations
of armed conflict and direct attacks on objects
protected under international law, including places
that generally have a significant presence of
children, such as schools and hospitals,
Noting the adoption of the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court, in particular, the
inclusion therein as a war crime, of conscripting or
enlisting children under the age of 15 years or
using them to participate actively in hostilities in
both international
and non-international armed conflicts,
Considering therefore that to strengthen further
the implementation of rights recognized in the
Convention on the Rights of the Child there is a
need to increase the
protection of children from involvement in armed
conflict,
Noting that article 1 of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child specifies that, for the purposes
of that Convention, a child means every human

being below the age of 18 years unless, under the

law applicable to the
child, majority is attained earlier,
Convinced that an optional protocol to the
Convention that raises the age of possible
recruitment of persons into armed forces and their
participation in hostilities will contribute effectively
to the implementation of the principle that the best
interests of the child are to be a primary
consideration in all actions concerning children,
Noting
that
the
twenty-sixth
International
Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in
December 1995 recommended, inter alia, that
parties to conflict take every feasible step to ensure
that children below the age of 18 years do not take
part in hostilities,
Welcoming the unanimous adoption, in June 1999,
of International Labour Organization Convention
No. 182 on the Prohibition and Immediate Action
for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child
Labour, which prohibits, inter alia, forced or
compulsory recruitment of children for use in
armed conflict,
Condemning with the gravest concern the
recruitment, training and use within and across
national borders of children in hostilities by armed
groups distinct from the armed forces of a State,
and recognizing the responsibility of those who
recruit, train and use children in this regard,
Recalling the obligation of each party to an armed
conflict to abide by the provisions of international
humanitarian law,
Stressing that the present Protocol is without
prejudice to the purposes and principles contained
in the Charter of the United Nations, including
Article 51, and relevant
norms of humanitarian law,
Bearing in mind that conditions of peace and
security based on full respect of the purposes and
principles contained in the Charter and
observance
of
applicable
human
rights
instruments are indispensable for the full
protection of children, in particular during armed
conflicts and foreign occupation,

Recognizing the special needs of those children

who are particularly vulnerable to recruitment or
use in hostilities contrary to the present Protocol
owing to their economic or social status or gender,
Mindful of the necessity of taking into
consideration the economic, social and political
root causes of the
involvement of children in armed conflicts,
Convinced of the need to strengthen international
cooperation in the implementation of the present
Protocol, as well as the physical and psychosocial
rehabilitation and social reintegration of children
who are victims of armed conflict,
Encouraging the participation of the community
and, in particular, children and child victims in the
dissemination of informational and educational
programmes concerning the implementation of the
Protocol,
Have agreed as follows:

Article 1
States Parties shall take all feasible measures to
ensure that members of their armed forces who
have not attained the age of 18 years do not take a
direct part in hostilities.

Article 2
States Parties shall ensure that persons who have
not attained the age of 18 years are not
compulsorily recruited into their armed forces.

Article 3
1. States Parties shall raise in years the minimum age
for the voluntary recruitment of persons into their
national armed forces from that set out in article
38, paragraph 3, of the Convention on the Rights
of the Child,1 taking account of the principles
contained in that article and recognizing that
under the Convention persons under the age of 18
years are entitled to special protection.
2. Each State Party shall deposit a binding
declaration upon ratification of or accession to the
present Protocol that sets forth the minimum age
at which it will permit voluntary recruitment into
its national armed forces and a description of the

safeguards it has adopted to ensure that such

recruitment is not forced or coerced.
3. States Parties that permit voluntary recruitment
into their national armed forces under the age of
18 years shall maintain safeguards to ensure, as a
minimum, that:
(a) Such recruitment is genuinely voluntary; (b)
Such recruitment is carried out with the informed
consent of the person's parents or legal guardians;
(c) Such persons are fully informed of the duties
involved in such military service;
(d) Such persons provide reliable proof of age prior
to acceptance into national military service.
4. Each State Party may strengthen its declaration at
any time by notification to that effect addressed to
the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who
shall inform all States Parties. Such notification
shall take effect on the date on which it is received
by the Secretary-General.
5. The requirement to raise the age in paragraph 1 of
the present article does not apply to schools
operated by or under the control of the armed
forces of the States Parties, in keeping with articles
28 and 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child.

Article 4
1. Armed groups that are distinct from the armed
forces of a State should not, under any
circumstances, recruit or use in hostilities persons
under the age of 18 years. 2. States Parties shall
take all feasible measures to prevent such
recruitment and use, including the adoption of
legal measures necessary to prohibit and
criminalize such practices.
3. The application of the present article shall not
affect the legal status of any party to an armed
conflict.

Article 5
Nothing in the present Protocol shall be construed
as precluding provisions in the law of a State Party
or in international instruments and international
humanitarian law that are more conducive to the
realization of the rights of the child.

Article 6
1. Each State Party shall take all necessary legal,
administrative and other measures to ensure the

effective implementation and enforcement of the

provisions of the present Protocol within its
jurisdiction. 2. States Parties undertake to make
the principles and provisions of the present
Protocol widely known and promoted by
appropriate means, to adults and children alike.
3. States Parties shall take all feasible measures to
ensure that persons within their jurisdiction
recruited or used in hostilities contrary to the
present Protocol are demobilized or otherwise
released from service. States Parties shall, when
necessary, accord to such persons all appropriate
assistance for their physical and psychological
recovery and their social reintegration.

Article 7
1. States
Parties
shall
cooperate
in
the
implementation of the present Protocol, including
in the prevention of any activity contrary thereto
and in the rehabilitation and social reintegration of
persons who are victims of acts contrary thereto,
including through technical cooperation and
financial
assistance.
Such
assistance
and
cooperation will be undertaken in consultation
with the States Parties concerned and the relevant
international organizations.
2. States Parties in a position to do so shall provide
such assistance through existing multilateral,
bilateral or other programmes or, inter alia,
through a voluntary fund established in
accordance with the rules of the General Assembly.

Article 8
1. Each State Party shall, within two years following
the entry into force of the present Protocol for that
State Party, submit a report to the Committee on
the Rights of the Child providing comprehensive
information on the measures it has taken to
implement the provisions of the Protocol, including
the measures taken to implement the provisions on
participation and recruitment.
2. Following the submission of the comprehensive
report, each State Party shall include in the
reports it submits to the Committee on the Rights
of the Child, in accordance with article 44 of the
Convention, any further information with respect
to the implementation of the Protocol. Other States
Parties to the Protocol shall submit a report every
five years.

3. The Committee on the Rights of the Child may

request from States Parties further information
relevant to the implementation of the present
Protocol.

Article 9
1. The present Protocol is open for signature by any
State that is a party to the Convention or has
signed it. 2. The present Protocol is subject to
ratification and is open to accession by any State.
Instruments of ratification or accession shall be
deposited with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations.
3. The Secretary-General, in his capacity as
depositary of the Convention and the Protocol,
shall inform all States Parties to the Convention
and all States that have signed the Convention of
each instrument of declaration pursuant to article
3.

Article 10
1. The present Protocol shall enter into force three
months after the deposit of the tenth instrument of
ratification or accession.
2. For each State ratifying the present Protocol or
acceding to it after its entry into force, the Protocol
shall enter into force one month after the date of
the deposit of its own instrument of ratification or
accession.

Article 11
1. Any State Party may denounce the present Protocol
at any time by written notification to the SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations, who shall thereafter
inform the other States Parties to the Convention
and all States that have signed the Convention.
The denunciation shall take effect one year after
the date of receipt of the notification by the
Secretary-General. If, however, on the expiry of
that year the denouncing State Party is engaged in
armed conflict, the denunciation shall not take
effect before the end of the armed conflict.
2. Such a denunciation shall not have the effect of
releasing the State Party from its obligations under
the present Protocol in regard to any act that
occurs prior to the date on which the denunciation
becomes effective. Nor shall such a denunciation
prejudice in any way the continued consideration
of any matter that is already under consideration

by the Committee on the Rights of the Child prior

to the date on which the denunciation becomes
effective.

Article 12
1. Any State Party may propose an amendment and
file it with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations. 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
third 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 of the
United Nations 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 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 that have accepted
it, other States Parties still being bound by the
provisions of the present Protocol and any earlier
amendments they have accepted.

Article 13
1. The present Protocol, of which the Arabic, Chinese,
English, French, Russian and Spanish texts are
equally authentic, shall be deposited in the
archives of the United Nations.
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall
transmit certified copies of the present Protocol to
all States Parties to the Convention and all States
that have signed the Convention.

RA 7610 : WHO IS A CHILD

(a) "Children" refers to person below eighteen (18)
years of age or those over but are unable to fully
take care of themselves or protect themselves from
abuse,
neglect,
cruelty,
exploitation
or
discrimination because of a

physical or mental disability or condition;

WHAT IS CHILD ABUSE

"Child abuse" refers to the maltreatment, whether
habitual or not, of the child which includes any of
the following:
(1) Psychological
and
physical
abuse,
neglect, cruelty, sexual abuse and
emotional maltreatment;
(2) Any act by deeds or words which
debases, degrades or demeans the
intrinsic worth and
dignity of a child as a human being;
(3) Unreasonable deprivation of his basic
needs
for survival, such as food and shelter; or
(4) Failure to immediately give medical
treatment to an injured child resulting in
serious impairment of his growth and
development or in his permanent
incapacity or death.

WHO CAN FILE

Section 27. Who May File a Complaint.
Complaints on cases of unlawful acts committed
against the children as enumerated herein may be
filed by the following:
(a) Offended party;
(b) Parents or guardians;
(c) Ascendant or collateral relative within
the
third
degree
of
consanguinity;1awphi1@ITC
(d) Officer, social worker or representative of
a licensed child-caring institution; (e)
Officer or social worker of the
Department of
Social Welfare and Development;
(f) Barangay chairman; or (g) At least
three (3) concerned responsible
citizens where the violation occurred.

WHAT IS ATTEMPT TO COMMIT CHILD

PROSTITUTION

Attempt To Commit Child Prostitution. There

is an attempt to commit child prostitution under
Section 5, paragraph (a) hereof when any person
who, not being a relative of a child, is found alone
with the said child inside the room or cubicle of a
house, an inn, hotel, motel, pension house,
apartelle or other similar establishments, vessel,
vehicle or any other hidden or secluded area under
circumstances which would lead a reasonable
person to believe that the child is about to be
exploited in prostitution and other sexual abuse.
There is also an attempt to commit child
prostitution, under paragraph (b) of Section 5
hereof when any person is receiving services from a
child in a sauna parlor or bath, massage clinic,
health club and other similar establishments. A
penalty lower by two (2) degrees than that
prescribed for the consummated felony under
Section 5 hereof shall be imposed upon the
principals of the attempt to commit the crime of
child prostitution under this Act, or, in the proper
case, under the Revised Penal Code.

WHAT IS ATTEMPT TO COMMIT CHILD

TRAFFICKING
Section

8.

Attempt

to

Commit

Child

Trafficking. There is an attempt to commit child

trafficking under
Section 7 of this Act:1awphi1@alf
(a) When a child travels alone to a foreign
country without valid reason therefor and
without
clearance
issued
by
the
Department
of
Social
Welfare
and
Development
or
written
permit
or
justification from the child's parents or
legal guardian;
(c) When a person, agency, establishment or
child-caring institution recruits women or
couples to bear children for the purpose of
child trafficking; or
(d) When a doctor, hospital or clinic official or
employee, nurse, midwife, local civil
registrar or any other person simulates
birth for the purpose of child trafficking; or
(e) When a person engages in the act of finding
children
among
low-income
families,
hospitals, clinics, nurseries, day-care
centers, or other child-during institutions
who can be offered for the purpose of child

trafficking. A penalty lower two (2) degrees

than that prescribed for the consummated
felony under Section 7 hereof shall be
imposed upon the principals of the attempt
to commit child trafficking under this Act.

WHAT ARE OTHER ACTS OF NEGLECT, ABUSE,

CRUELTY OR EXPLOITATION
Section 10.

Other

Acts

of Neglect,

Abuse,

Cruelty or
Exploitation and Other Conditions Prejudicial
to the
Child's Development.
(a) Any person who shall commit any other acts of
child abuse, cruelty or exploitation or to be
responsible for other conditions prejudicial to the
child's development including those covered by
Article 59 of Presidential Decree No. 603, as
amended, but not covered by the Revised Penal
Code, as amended, shall suffer the penalty of
prision mayor in its minimum period.
(b) Any person who shall keep or have in his company
a minor, twelve (12) years or under or who in ten
(10) years or more his junior in any public or
private place, hotel, motel, beer joint, discotheque,
cabaret, pension house, sauna or massage parlor,
beach and/or other tourist resort or similar places
shall suffer the penalty of prision mayor in its
maximum period and a fine of not less than Fifty
thousand pesos (P50,000): Provided, That this
provision shall not apply to any person who is
related within the fourth degree of consanguinity
or affinity or any bond recognized by law, local
custom and tradition or acts in the performance of
a social, moral or legal duty.
(c) Any person who shall induce, deliver or offer a
minor to any one prohibited by this Act to keep or
have in his company a minor as provided in the
preceding paragraph shall suffer the penalty of
prision mayor in its medium period and a fine of
not less than Forty thousand pesos (P40,000);
Provided, however, That should the perpetrator be
an ascendant, stepparent or guardian of the minor,
the penalty to be imposed shall be prision mayor in
its maximum period, a fine of not less than Fifty

thousand pesos (P50,000), and the loss of parental

authority over the minor.
(d) Any person, owner, manager or one entrusted with
the operation of any public or private place of
accommodation, whether for occupancy, food,
drink or otherwise, including residential places,
who allows any person to take along with him to
such place or places any minor herein described
shall be imposed a penalty of prision mayor in its
medium period and a fine of not less than Fifty
thousand pesos (P50,000), and the loss of the
license to operate such a place or establishment.
(e) Any person who shall use, coerce, force or
intimidate a street child or any other child to;
(1) Beg or use begging as a means of
living; (2) Act as conduit or middlemen in
drug trafficking or pushing; or
(3) Conduct any illegal activities, shall
suffer the penalty of prision correccional in
its medium period to reclusion perpetua.
For purposes of this Act, the penalty for the
commission of acts punishable under Articles 248,
249, 262, paragraph 2, and 263, paragraph 1 of
Act No. 3815, as amended, the Revised Penal Code,
for the crimes of murder, homicide, other
intentional mutilation, and serious physical
injuries, respectively, shall be reclusion perpetua
when the victim is under twelve (12) years of age.
The penalty for the commission of acts punishable
under Article 337, 339, 340 and 341 of Act No.
3815, as amended, the Revised Penal Code, for the
crimes of qualified seduction, acts of lasciviousness
with the consent of the offended party, corruption
of minors, and white slave trade, respectively, shall
be one (1) degree higher than that imposed by law
when the victim is under twelve (12) years age.
The victim of the acts committed under this section
shall be entrusted to the care of the Department of
Social Welfare and Development.

WHAT
ACTS
ARE
PORNOGRAPHY
IN
PORNOGRAPHY ACT

CONSIDERED
CHILD
THE
ANTI-CHILD

"Child pornography" refers to any representation,

whether visual, audio, or written combination
thereof, by electronic, mechanical, digital, optical,

magnetic or any other means, of child engaged or

involved in real or simulated explicit sexual
activities.

WHAT CONSTITUTES ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN RA

9208
refers to the recruitment, transportation, transfer
or harboring, or receipt of persons with or without
the victim's consent or knowledge, within or
across national borders by means of threat or use
of force, or other forms of coercion, abduction,
fraud, deception, abuse of power or of position,
taking advantage of the vulnerability of the
person, or, the giving or receiving of payments or
benefits to achieve the consent of a person having
control over another person for the purpose of
exploitation which includes at a minimum, the
exploitation or the prostitution of others or other
forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or
services, slavery, servitude or the removal or sale
of organs. The recruitment, transportation,
transfer, harboring or receipt of a child for the
purpose of exploitation shall also be considered as
"trafficking in persons" even if it does not involve
any of the means set forth in the preceding
paragraph.
Section 4. Acts of Trafficking in Persons. - It shall
be unlawful for any person, natural or juridical, to
commit any of the following acts:
(a) To recruit, transport, transfer; harbor,
provide, or receive a person by any means,
including those done under the pretext of
domestic or overseas employment or
training or apprenticeship, for the purpose
of
prostitution,
pornography,
sexual
exploitation,
forced
labor,
slavery,
involuntary servitude or debt bondage; (b)
To introduce or match for money, profit, or
material, economic or other consideration,
any person or, as provided for under
Republic Act No. 6955, any Filipino woman
to a foreign national, for marriage for the
purpose of acquiring, buying, offering,
selling or trading him/her to engage in
prostitution,
pornography,
sexual
exploitation,
forced
labor,
slavery,
involuntary servitude or debt bondage;

(c) To offer or contract marriage, real or

simulated, for the purpose of acquiring,
buying, offering, selling, or trading them to
engage in prostitution, pornography, sexual
exploitation, forced labor or slavery,
involuntary servitude or debt bondage;
(d) To undertake or organize tours and travel
plans consisting of tourism packages or
activities for the purpose of utilizing and
offering
persons
for
prostitution,
pornography or sexual exploitation;
(e) To maintain or hire a person to engage in
prostitution or pornography;
(f) To adopt or facilitate the adoption of
persons for the purpose of prostitution,
pornography, sexual exploitation, forced
labor, slavery, involuntary servitude or debt
bondage; (g) To recruit, hire, adopt,
transport or abduct a person, by means of
threat or use of force, fraud, deceit,
violence, coercion, or intimidation for the
purpose of removal or sale of organs of said
person; and
(h) To recruit, transport or adopt a child to
engage in armed activities in the
Philippines or abroad.
Section 5. Acts that Promote Trafficking in Persons.
- The following acts which promote or facilitate
trafficking in persons, shall be unlawful:
(a) To knowingly lease or sublease, use or allow
to be used any house, building or
establishment for the purpose of promoting
trafficking in persons;
(b) To produce, print and issue or distribute
unissued, tampered or fake counseling
certificates,
registration
stickers
and
certificates of any government agency which
issues these certificates and stickers as
proof of compliance with government
regulatory and pre-departure requirements
for the purpose of promoting trafficking in
persons;
(c) To advertise, publish, print, broadcast or
distribute, or cause the advertisement,
publication, printing, broadcasting or
distribution by any means, including the
use of information technology and the
internet, of any brochure, flyer, or any
propaganda
material
that
promotes
trafficking in persons;

(d) To
assist
in
the
conduct
of
misrepresentation or fraud for purposes of
facilitating the acquisition of clearances
and necessary exit documents from
government agencies that are mandated to
provide pre-departure registration and
services for departing persons for the
purpose of promoting trafficking in
persons; (e) To facilitate, assist or help in
the exit and entry of persons from/to the
country at international and local airports,
territorial boundaries and seaports who are
in possession of unissued, tampered or
fraudulent travel documents for the
purpose of promoting
trafficking in persons;
(f) To confiscate, conceal, or destroy the
passport, travel documents, or personal
documents or belongings of trafficked
persons in furtherance of trafficking or to
prevent them from leaving the country or
seeking redress from the government or
appropriate agencies; and (g) To knowingly
benefit from, financial or otherwise, or
make use of, the labor or services of a
person held to a condition of involuntary
servitude, forced labor, or slavery.
Section 6. Qualified Trafficking in Persons. - The
following are considered as qualified trafficking:
(a) When the trafficked person is a child;
(b) When the adoption is effected through
Republic Act No. 8043, otherwise known as
the "Inter-Country Adoption Act of 1995"
and said adoption is for the purpose of
prostitution,
pornography,
sexual
exploitation,
forced
labor,
slavery,
involuntary servitude or debt bondage; (c)
When the crime is committed by a
syndicate, or in large scale. Trafficking is
deemed committed by a syndicate if carried
out by a group of three (3) or more persons
conspiring or confederating with one
another. It is deemed committed in large
scale if committed against three (3) or more
persons, individually or as a group;
(d) When the offender is an ascendant, parent,
sibling, guardian or a person who exercises
authority over the trafficked person or
when the offense is committed by a public
officer or employee;

(e) When the trafficked person is recruited to

engage in prostitution with any member of
the military or law enforcement agencies; (f)
When the offender is a member of the
military or law enforcement agencies; and
(g) When by reason or on occasion of the
act of trafficking in persons, the offended
party dies, becomes insane, suffers
mutilation or is afflicted with Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or the
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
(AIDS).

RA 9344: AGE OF CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY,

DISCERNMENT, DIVERSION, RESTORATIVE
JUSTICE
SEC.

6.

Minimum

Age

of

Criminal

Responsibility. - A child fifteen (15) years of age or

under at the time of the commission of the offense
shall be exempt from criminal liability. However,
the child shall be subjected to an intervention
program pursuant to Section 20 of this Act.
A child above fifteen (15) years but below eighteen
(18) years of age shall likewise be exempt from
criminal liability and be subjected to an
intervention program, unless he/she has acted
with discernment, in which case, such child shall
be subjected to the appropriate proceedings in
accordance with this Act. The exemption from
criminal liability herein established does not
include exemption from civil liability, which shall
be enforced in accordance with existing laws.
SEC. 7. Determination of Age. - The child in
conflict with the law shall enjoy the presumption of
minority. He/She shall enjoy all the rights of a
child in conflict with the law until he/she is proven
to be eighteen (18) years old or older. The age of a
child may be determined from the child's birth
certificate, baptismal certificate or any other
pertinent documents. In the absence of these
documents, age may be based on information from
the child himself/herself, testimonies of other
persons, the physical appearance of the child and
other relevant evidence. In case of doubt as to the
age of the child, it shall be resolved in his/her
favor.
Any person contesting the age of the child in
conflict with the law prior to the filing of the

information in any appropriate court may file a

case in a summary proceeding for the
determination of age before the Family Court which
shall decide the case within twenty-four (24) hours
from receipt of the appropriate pleadings of all
interested parties.
If a case has been fiied against the child in conflict
with the law and is pending in the appropriate
court, the person shall file a motion to determine
the age of the child in the same court where the
case is pending. Pending hearing on the said
motion, proceedings on the main case shall be
suspended.
In all proceedings, law enforcement officers,
prosecutors, judges and other government officials
concerned shall exert all efforts at determining the
age of the child in conflict with the law.

RA 9262: WHAT CONSTITUTES VAWC,

Violence against women and their children" refers to
any act or a series of acts committed by any person
against a woman who is his wife, former wife, or
against a woman with whom the person has or had
a sexual or dating relationship, or with whom he
has a common child, or against her child whether
legitimate or illegitimate, within or without the
family abode, which result in or is likely to result in
physical, sexual, psychological harm or suffering,
or economic abuse including threats of such acts,
battery, assault, coercion, harassment or arbitrary
deprivation of liberty. It includes, but is not limited
to, the following acts:
A. "Physical Violence" refers to acts that include
bodily or
physical harm;
B. "Sexual violence" refers to an act which is sexual
in nature, committed against a woman or her
child. It includes, but is not limited to:
a) rape, sexual harassment, acts of
lasciviousness, treating a woman or her child as a
sex object, making demeaning and sexually
suggestive remarks, physically attacking the sexual
parts of the victim's body, forcing her/him to watch
obscene publications and indecent shows or
forcing the woman or her child to do indecent acts
and/or make films thereof, forcing the wife and

mistress/lover to live in the conjugal home or sleep

together in the same room with the abuser;
b) acts causing or attempting to cause the
victim
to engage in any sexual activity by force, threat of
force, physical or other harm or threat of physical
or other harm or coercion;
c) Prostituting the woman or child.
C. "Psychological violence" refers to acts or
omissions causing or likely to cause mental or
emotional suffering of the victim such as but not
limited to intimidation, harassment, stalking,
damage to property, public ridicule or
humiliation, repeated verbal abuse and mental
infidelity. It includes causing or allowing the
victim to witness the physical, sexual or
psychological abuse of a member of the family to
which the victim belongs, or to witness
pornography in any form or to witness abusive
injury to pets or to unlawful or unwanted
deprivation of the right to custody and/or
visitation of common children.
D. "Economic abuse" refers to acts that make or
attempt to make a woman financially dependent
which includes, but is not limited to the
following:
1. withdrawal
of
financial
support
or
preventing the victim from engaging in any
legitimate profession, occupation, business
or activity, except in cases wherein the
other spouse/partner objects on valid,
serious and moral grounds as defined in
Article 73 of the Family
Code;
2. deprivation or threat of deprivation of
financial resources and the right to the use
and enjoyment of the conjugal, community
or property owned in common;
3. destroying household property;
4. controlling the victims' own money or
properties or solely controlling the conjugal
money or properties.

PROTECTIVE ORDERS
SECTION 8. Protection Orders.- A protection order
is an order issued under this act for the purpose of
preventing further acts of violence against a

woman or her child specified in Section 5 of this

Act and granting other necessary relief. The relief
granted under a protection order serve the purpose
of safeguarding the victim from further harm,
minimizing any disruption in the victim's daily life,
and facilitating the opportunity and ability of the
victim to independently regain control over her life.
The provisions of the protection order shall be
enforced by law enforcement agencies. The
protection orders that may be issued under this
Act are the barangay protection order (BPO),
temporary protection order (TPO) and permanent
protection order (PPO). The protection orders that
may be issued under this Act shall include any,
some or all of the following reliefs:
(a) Prohibition of the respondent from
threatening to commit or committing,
personally or through another, any of the
acts mentioned in
Section 5 of this Act;
(b) Prohibition of the respondent from
harassing,
annoying,
telephoning,
contacting or otherwise communicating
with the petitioner, directly or
indirectly;
(c) Removal and exclusion of the respondent
from the residence of the petitioner,
regardless of ownership of the residence,
either temporarily for the purpose of
protecting the petitioner, or permanently
where no property rights are violated,
and if respondent must remove personal
effects from the residence, the court shall
direct a law enforcement agent to
accompany the respondent has gathered
his things and escort respondent from
the
residence;
(d) Directing the respondent to stay away
from petitioner and designated family or
household member at a distance
specified by the court, and to stay away
from the residence, school, place of
employment, or any specified place
frequented by the petitioner and any
designated family or
household member;

(e) Directing lawful possession and use by

petitioner of an automobile and other
essential personal effects, regardless of
ownership, and directing the appropriate
law enforcement officer to accompany the
petitioner to the residence of the parties
to ensure that the petitioner is safely
restored to the possession of the
automobile and other essential personal
effects, or to supervise the petitioner's or
respondent's
removal
of
personal
belongings;
(f) Granting a temporary or permanent
custody
of a child/children to the petitioner;
(g) Directing the respondent to provide
support to the woman and/or her child if
entitled to legal support. Notwithstanding
other laws to the contrary, the court shall
order an appropriate percentage of the
income or salary of the respondent to be
withheld regularly by the respondent's
employer for the same to be automatically
remitted directly to the woman. Failure to
remit and/or withhold or any delay in the
remittance of support to the woman
and/or her child without justifiable cause
shall render the respondent or his
employer liable for indirect contempt of
court;
(h) Prohibition of the respondent from any
use or possession of any firearm or
deadly weapon and order him to
surrender the same to the court for
appropriate disposition by the court,

including revocation of license and

disqualification to apply for any license to
use or possess a firearm. If the offender
is a law enforcement agent, the court
shall order the offender to surrender his
firearm and shall direct the appropriate
authority to investigate on the offender
and take appropriate action on matter;
(i) Restitution for actual damages caused by
the violence inflicted, including, but not
limited to, property damage, medical
expenses, childcare
expenses and loss of income;
(j) Directing the DSWD or any appropriate
agency to provide petitioner may need; and
(k) Provision of such other forms of relief as
the court deems necessary to protect and
provide for the safety of the petitioner and
any designated family or household
member, provided petitioner and any
designated family or household member
consents to such relief.
Any of the reliefs provided under this section shall
be granted even in the absence of a decree of legal
separation or annulment or declaration of absolute
nullity of marriage.
The issuance of a BPO or the pendency of an
application for BPO shall not preclude a petitioner
from applying for, or the court from granting a TPO
or PPO.