20th Anniversary of the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child

May 25 marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child: the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OPAC) and the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (OPSC).

On the day of the 10th anniversary in 2010, the UN-Secretary General called for the universal ratification for non-States Parties and effective implementation for States Parties of the Optional Protocols. The ratification of the maximum number of states and the implementation of these Optional Protocols was seen as the best way to safeguard of children’s rights and their effective protection from violence, abuse and exploitation.

We believe that these Protocols needs to be a normative standards for all countries and especially countries where DCI has a National presence. We see the Protocols as the necessary extra-step to guarantee a protective environment for children. In the last ten years, 39 countries have ratified the OPAC, passing from 132 states to 170.

To raise understanding among children and young people on the optional protocols, child friendly versions of the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (OPSC) and the third Optional Protocol on the Communication Procedure to CRC (OPCP)—which entered into force in 2014—have been published by the Office of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Violence against Children (OSRSG-VAC).

????UNICEF Guide to the Optional Protocol for Children in Armed Conflict

At the national level, DCI National Sections work directly with children victims of violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect, as well as. See what Defence for Children is doing to protect Children in Armed Conflict

Resources made available by the UN Secretary-General on Violence against Children (OSRSG-VAC):

• Booklet on Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography – Raising Understanding among Children  and Young People on the OPSC
  • Download: English French Spanish Greek
    Nepali Polish Portuguese Turkish
• Optional Protocol on a Communications Procedure Download
• Rules of procedure under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedure Download
• Ratification Status of Optional Protocol on a Communication Procedure
• Optional Protocol on a Communication Procedure – Raising Understanding among Children  and Young People on the OPCP
  • Download: English French Spanish Bosnian
    Nepali Polish Portuguese Turkish