Proposal for new UNCRC Optional Protocol approved

Date: 20th August 2024
Category: General measures of implementation, UNCRC Optional Protocols and General Comments, Education, Leisure and Cultural Activities

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The UN Human Rights Council has approved a proposal to draft a new Optional Protocol to the UNCRC that guarantees every child the right to free early childhood, preprimary, and secondary education. Led by Luxembourg, the Dominican Republic, and Sierra Leone, and supported by 46 other countries, this will build on the rights enshrined in the UNCRC which currently ensures free and compulsory primary education.

The new Optional Protocol will recognise the need for comprehensive education from early childhood to secondary school, recognising that primary education alone is insufficient in today's world. The proposal follows research and advocacy from global education experts, including support from Malala Yousafzai, Vanessa Nakate, and other children’s rights activists.

In a historic first, the council has also decided to involve children in the treaty's drafting process, allowing them to express their views and participate. The working group responsible for the treaty will convene in 2025. This will be the fourth Optional Protocol to the UNCRC. Whilst the UK has ratified Optional Protocols 1 and 2 (on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and children in armed conflict), it is yet to ratify Optional Protocol 3 on a communications procedure, which enables children and young people to bring concerns about their rights to the UN Committee,

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