Committee on the Rights of the Child Adopts Concluding Observations on Reports of Luxembourg and Tunisia and Concludes Eighty-seventh Session

4 June 2021

The Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon closed its eighty-seventh session after adopting concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Luxembourg and Tunisia under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Mikiko Otani, Committee Chairperson, said that there were now 196 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child; 171 States had ratified or acceded to the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict; 177 States had ratified or acceded to the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; and 47 States had ratified or acceded to the Optional Protocol on a communications procedure.

The Committee formally adopted its concluding observations on the reports of Luxembourg and Tunisia. Ms. Otani said they would be available online on Thursday, 10 June.

Ms. Otani said the Committee had rendered seven decisions concerning 15 individual communications. It found violations of the Convention in a case against Spain and also found that a case against Switzerland did not amount to a violation of the Convention, and that a case against Germany was inadmissible. Another case against Switzerland was found admissible. Finally, 11 cases against Spain were discontinued. The Committee also held oral hearings on three cases concerning the impact of climate change on 16 children.

In the context of the outcome of the treaty body strengthening process adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 68/268 on "Strengthening and improving the effective functioning of the human rights treaty body system", the Committee had continued its discussion in relation to its working methods, in particular on individual communications.

The Committee continued its work on its next day of general discussion dedicated to the rights of children in alternative care, to be held online on 16 and 17 September.

Ms. Otani said the Committee also decided that it would start working on a new general comment dedicated to children's rights and the environment with a special focus on climate change as a provisional working title.

Faith Marshall-Harris, Committee Rapporteur, spoke about activities held by Committee Experts during the intersessional period, as well as private meetings the Committee held with different stakeholders during the session.

The Committee held its eighty-seventh online session from 17 May to 4 June 2021.

The concluding observations and recommendations on the reports reviewed during the session will be available on Thursday, 10 June on thesession's webpage, where other documents relating to the Committee's work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found.

The webcast of the Committee's public meetings can be accessed at http://webtv.un.org/.

The eighty-eighth session of the Committee is scheduled to be held from 6 to 24 September 2021.

Link: https://www.ungeneva.org/en/news-media/meeting-summary/2021/06/committee-rights-child-adopts-concluding-observations-reports

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For use of the information media; not an official record