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xViews sought for new UNCRC optional protocol
Date: 1st May 2025
Category:
General Comments
Closing date: 18th May (for organisations) and 8th June 2025 (children’s submissions)
The UN’s Human Rights Office is seeking views from children, young people and civil society organisations as it prepares to develop a new optional protocol on the right to education.
What is an optional protocol?
Human rights treaties are often followed by ‘optional protocols’. These set out extra provisions that were written after the original treaty was agreed. They are ‘optional’ because they do not automatically bind the countries that ratified the original treaty. Instead, each country can decide if it wants to be bound by the optional protocol - if it does, then it must ratify it.
The UNCRC currently has three optional protocols. The UK has ratified Optional Protocols 1 and 2 (on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and on children in armed conflict), but it is yet to ratify Optional Protocol 3 on a communications procedure.
What will the new optional protocol be about?
The UN has agreed to draft a new optional protocol that guarantees every child the right to free early childhood education, pre-primary and secondary education. It follows a call led by Luxembourg, the Dominican Republic and Sierra Leone, with support from 46 other countries. The optional protocol will build upon the rights already set out in the UNCRC, which includes the right to 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.
How can children and young people get involved?
In a historic first, the UN Human Rights Council decided to involve children in the treaty's drafting process. The UN has prepared several resources for children and young people, including:
A facilitator guide and reporting form are available for supporting organisations via the UN’s consultation webpage, as are copies of all resources in French and Spanish.
The deadline for children’s submissions is 8th June 2025.
How can civil society organisations and other adults get involved?
The UN is also seeking views from civil society organisations, national human rights institutions, academics and others with an interest in the topic. A full list of questions can be found on the UN’s consultation webpage.
Responses should be no more than 5 pages long and submitted by 18th May 2025.