gov - Ireland’s report to the UN under the Convention on the Rights of the Child | Draft report published by Minister O’Gorman for consultation

Ireland’s draft State Report under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is published for consultation today, 06 October 2021.
Submissions on the draft report can be made to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth until 29 October 2021.

Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, T.D., today published a draft of Ireland’s next State report under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Minister is seeking the views of individuals, organisations or groups on the draft Report.

Ireland ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992 and is required to submit regular state reports on measures taken to give effect to the Convention.

Ireland is due to submit its combined Fifth and Sixth State Report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child in February 2022. An oral hearing before the Committee is provisionally scheduled for the second half of 2022 in Geneva.

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has prepared the draft combined Fifth and Sixth State Report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in close collaboration with relevant Government Departments and it has also consulted with children and young people and civil society stakeholders. This draft document, which responds to a List of Issues Report provided by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in November 2020, is now available for public consultation. The Department welcomes comments on the draft document until 29 October 2021.

Welcoming the announcement, Minister O’Gorman said:

“I am delighted to publish a draft of Ireland’s State Report under the Convention on the Rights of the Child for consultation. In this Report, we assess the progress made since the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child issued their Concluding Recommendations to Ireland after our last examination before the Committee in 2016. The Report illustrates the many strides we have taken to ensure that children and young people in Ireland can fully enjoy their rights. Engagement with children, young people and civil society stakeholders has been an integral part of this reporting process, and I would encourage any individual, organisation or group who wishes to have their views heard to make a submission.”

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention. All States Parties to the Convention are obliged to submit regular reports to the Committee on how it is being implemented. After the report has been submitted to the UN Committee, Ireland will attend a public examination by the Committee. Following this examination, the Committee will make observations and recommendations to Ireland on the implementation of the Convention here.

Prior to the finalisation of the report for submission to the CRC, a consultation process is now being launched to ensure that the input of all interested parties is captured and accounted for in the final document.

Written submissions on the State Report are invited from interested parties and can be submitted to the Department at the following email address: UNCRC@equality.gov.ie

For more information and to read the full report, see here.

ENDS

Notes to the Editor:

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most rapidly ratified human rights treaty in history with more countries having ratified the Convention than any other human rights treaty in history. (196 countries have become State Parties to the Convention as of June 2021).
Ireland adopted the UNCRC in 1989 and ratified it in 1992.
Ireland submitted reports in 1996, 2006 and 2013.
Ireland is due to submit its combined Fifth and Sixth State Report to the Committee in February 2022, the original submission date of October 2021 having been extended as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The draft report published today will now go through a public consultation process before being finalised and submitted to the United Nations.
This report has been prepared by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth; in preparing the draft report, the Department consulted with other government departments and agencies.