Committee on the Rights of the Child adopt 4 new General Comments

Date: 21st March 2013
Category: UK 1st periodic review

The Committee on the Rights of the Child closed its 62nd session on 1st February 2013, adopting 4 new General Comments.

The new General Comments are:

• the right to rest, leisure, play, recreational activities, cultural life and the arts;
• the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standards of health;
• the impact of the business sector on children's rights, and
• the best interests of the child.

Advanced unedited versions of the first three General Comments in the list above are now available. Access them here.

General comments provide an authoritative interpretation of the rights contained in the articles and provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The main purpose of a general comment is to promote implementation of the CRC and assist States parties in fulfilling their reporting obligations. They are based on the Committee on the Rights of the Child's experience in monitoring State party reports.

At the 62nd session on the 1st February 2013, the Committee also adopted rules of procedure for the third Optional Protocol (the complaints mechanism). In addition, work on a draft joint General Comment with the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on harmful traditional practices will continue.