The Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted ten years ago, on 20 November 1989, by the General Assembly of the United Nations. It entered into force on 2 September 1990. At present, 191 States have ratified or acceded to this Convention, which makes it the most widely accepted human rights treaty ever.
Under article 44 of the Convention, each State party has to submit an initial report within two years of the entry into force of the Convention for that State and thereafter a periodic report every five years. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has been formed to monitor the implementation of the Convention. At its second session, in 1992, the Committee decided that it would adopt, at the end of the consideration of each State party's report, concluding observations reflecting the main points of discussion and indicating issues that would require a specific follow-up. The concluding observations provide a general evaluation of the report and of the dialogue with the delegation, and make note of positive developments that may have occurred during the period under review, factors and difficulties affecting the implementation of the Convention, and of specific issues of concern relating to the application of the provisions of the Convention. They also include suggestions and recommendations to the State party concerned.
The present volume contains all concluding observations (as well as corresponding preliminary observations) adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child at its third to seventeenth sessions (1993-1998) on reports from 81 States parties in total.
Foreword by Mrs. Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.