Give children a chance are designing budgets with children specifically in an annual meeting of the United nations Security mind. The Committee on the rights of the Child, with Council as a Children’s rights Council would have a huge the support of child advocacy organizations, is already impact. over the course of the year, a children’s sub- drafting a General Comment on public spending council of the Security Council could examine the key to realize children’s rights that will clarify the policy issues that need to be raised. implications of article 4. To make this happen, the United nations General assembly should host a session for children and young Uphold child rights people, preferably before its next session. ideally, agreement on a United nations Children’s Council that But more resources, by themselves, will not suffice. reports to the Security Council could be reached in time What is to guarantee that children’s rights will be upheld for the 70th anniversary of the Universal declaration or even taken seriously? of human rights in 2018. and by the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the rights of the Child in 2019, no United nations convention has been ratified in we could see the establishment of a new international as many countries as the Convention on the rights Children’s Court. of the Child. But in too many areas, these rights are not being implemented. Similarly, the 1998 rome The long-term goal is much simpler: Give children a Statute recognizes the need for special measures chance. Give children a voice. The future is theirs. to protect children as victims and witnesses during judicial proceedings, and requires that judicial staff have expertise on children’s issues. Yet criminal acts affecting children and within the province of the iCC – rape, sexual violence, trafficking and the use of children as soldiers – are not being properly investigated. impunity remains widespread. The Third optional Protocol to the Convention on a Communications Procedure, which entered into force in april 2014, allows children to bring complaints about rights violations directly to the Committee on the rights of the Child – but only if no solution is found at the national level. as of february 2016, only 26 countries had ratified the Protocol, and those most likely to violate it are the least likely to sign on. an international Children’s Court, along with a Children’s Commissioner appointed to each country, is therefore vital to address these outstanding issues. Listen to young voices There is at least one other prerequisite for mustering the necessary resources to secure opportunities for children and establishing legal mechanisms to protect their rights. namely, children and young people need Education activist Malala yousafzai speaks with a political mechanism through which they can debate students at a school in the Za’atari camp for Syrian these important issues. Young people’s parliaments refugees in Mafraq Governorate, Jordan. and other platforms for meaningful participation are a must. © UNICEF/UNI158222/Malhas The STaTe of The World’S Children 2016 67