What are General Comments?

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child ('UN Committee') publishes guidance to help people understand the rights set out in the UNCRC. These guidance documents are called General Comments.

A General Comment can cover:

• a specific right (such as General Comment 12 on the right of the child to be heard under Article 12 UNCRC); or
• an issue affecting children and young people that the UN Committee feels needs further guidance (such as General Comment 21 on children in street situations)

How many General Comments are there?

There are 25 General Comments. The UN Committee is in the process of developing a 26th. 

• General Comment 1 (2001) - Education
• General Comment 2 (2002) - Role of National Human Rights Institutions
• General Comment 3 (2003) - HIV/AIDS and Children's Rights 
• General Comment 4 (2003) - Adolescent Health 
• General Comment 5 (2003) - General Measures of Implementation
• General Comment 6 (2005) - Unaccompanied Children
• General Comment 7 (2005) - Early Childhood
• General Comment 8 (2006) - Cruel and Degrading Treatment
• General Comment 9 (2006) - Children with Disabilities
• General Comment 10 (2007) - Juvenile Justice
• General Comment 11 (2009) - Indigenous Children
• General Comment 12 (2009) - Right to be Heard
• General Comment 13 (2011) - Violence
• General Comment 14 (2013) - Best Interests of the Child
• General Comment 15 (2013) - Health
• General Comment 16 (2013) - Business and Children's Rights
• General Comment 17 (2013) - Rest, Leisure, Play and Cultural Life
• General Comment 18 (revised 2019) - Harmful Practices
• General Comment 19 (2016) - Public Budgeting and Children's Rights
• General Comment 20 (2016) - Adolescence 
• General Comment 21 (2017) - Children in Street Situations
• General Comment 22 (2017) - International Migration: General Principles
• General Comment 23 (2017) - International Migration: Transit and Destination Countries
• General Comment 24 (2019) - Children’s Rights in the Child Justice System (replaces General Comment 10)
• General Comment 25 (2021) - Children’s Rights in relation to the Digital Environment
• General Comment (26) - Children's rights and the environment with focus on climate change (currently being developed)