What is the Convention on the Rights of the Child?
The Convention on the Rights of the Child is a human rights treaty for children. The aim of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is to ensure every child and young person the right to a good life.
The most widely ratified human rights treaty in the world
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most widely ratified human rights treaty in the world. Under the Convention, all persons under 18 years of age are considered children. The State must safeguard the realisation of children’s human rights.
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 November 1989. The Convention entered into force under Finnish law in 1991.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child imposes obligations on the States Parties. They are required to ensure that the Convention is widely known, manage its implementation at a national level and provide relevant training for public authorities. Under Section 22 of the Constitution of Finland (in Finnish, finlex.fi), public authorities must guarantee the observance of basic rights and liberties and human rights.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child safeguards many aspects of children’s lives
The Convention on the Rights of the Child is a wide-ranging human rights treaty. It covers rights such as those relating to education, healthcare, parents’ child-rearing responsibilities, children’s freedom of religion and expression, and social security. The Convention contains 54 interlinked articles and is intended to be read as a whole.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child includes many of the same rights as other human rights treaties, as well as certain rights that relate specifically to children, such as the right to have their best interests treated as a primary consideration (Article 3) and the right to rest, leisure, play and recreational activities (Article 31).
The Convention on the Rights of the Child has been supplemented by three Optional Protocols (lapsiasia.fi). They concern the involvement of children in armed conflicts; the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; and the communications procedure. Finland has ratified all three Optional Protocols, meaning that they bind Finland in the same way as the Convention itself.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child interprets the Convention
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is the highest authority with regard to interpreting the Convention on the Rights of the Child, on which it publishes general comments and guidance. Although States Parties do not specifically undertake to follow the Committee’s general comments, they should be given significant weight when it comes to interpreting the Convention.
The Committee has adopted 26 general comments to date. The first dates back to 2001 and concerns the aims of education. General comments have been issued in relation to both individual articles (e.g. General Comment No. 12 on the right of the child to be heard) and various themes or stages of development (e.g. General Comment No. 20 on the implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence). The Committee is preparing General Comment No. 27, which is expected to be published in 2026. It addresses children’s right to access justice and effective remedy.
The Ombudsman for Children has commissioned Finnish translations of all General Comments. Swedish versions can be found on the Swedish Ombudsman for Children website.
Learn about the Committee’s work and general comments on the UN website:
How legally binding is the Convention on the Rights of the Child?
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most widely ratified human rights treaty in the world. However, it is important to note that this does not in itself define the Convention’s weight and significance in different States; compliance depends largely on States’ willingness to take the Committee’s criticism and recommendations into account. The Committee does not have a binding mechanism to ensure States follow up on its concluding observations and recommendations. States must, however, explain in their periodic reports how they have progressed on issues raised by the Committee.
The Convention’s weight is also influenced by the fact that some States that have ratified it have entered reservations. Finland has not entered any reservation to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child was preceded by the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child of 1959. The Declaration was not legally binding on States, but it helped to bring children’s rights to prominence at both international and national level.
