Today we bring good news that promotes basic rights such as child participation and the best interests of the child. Spain will be one of the first countries to sign the new protocol of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly last December 2011.
For children's associations such as UNICEF or Save the Children, it represents a historical advance in children's rights. Until now there were two optional protocols, but they focused on specific aspects such as child soldiers and the age of recruitment and child prostitution.
The new document instead refers to any situation that affects any child in the world and its regulation includes the possibility that children may, accompanied by an adult or an association, file complaints through a process adapted to them and defend their rights themselves before an international instance.
In other words, from now on any child in the world can come before the Committee to be heard in complaints, everyday situations that they consider violate their rights.
The possibility of presenting individual communications to the Committee on the Rights of the Child is only available to the countries that have signed it, provided that the State denounced has recognized the competence of the Committee to examine these complaints.
Save The Children, who urged Minister García-Margallo to sign the protocol and endorsed the petition with 2,000 signatures, has celebrated this "very important first symbolic gesture" with which, in his opinion, "Spain reaffirms its commitment to rights of childhood. "
However, the NGO explains that this gesture "has to be completed with ratification in Parliament and also, Spain should encourage other states to sign and ratify also" as It will only enter into force once it has been signed by ten States.
Given the lack of confidence of many children in the world and the abuses that occur, it also seems great news, and we hope that there are many more countries subscribed, although unfortunately those places where children's rights are violated so Constant and obvious will not be very receptive to it.
Save The Children highlights that the new mechanism reinforces international protection of human rights and it is one more guarantee, but child advocacy organizations will continue to play their fundamental role.
