What is CROC?

What does it do?

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CROC) is an international human rights treaty that protects the rights of children and young people up to the age of eighteen. As a signatory to the Convention, Australia has a responsibility to ensure that the rights of children are recognised and upheld. Some of the most important articles of CROC include:

  • Protection without discrimination (Article 2)
    • All rights apply equally to all children, regardless of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political views and so on
  • Best interests principle (Article 3)
    • The best interests of the child are the primary consideration in all actions taken with respect to the child
  • Right to life (Article 6)
  • Right to a name and a nationality (Article 7)
  • Right to preserve their identity (Article 8)
  • Right to live with their parents (Article 9)
    • A child should not be separated from their parents against their will, unless such separation is in the child’s best interests
  • Right to family reunification (Article 10)
  • Right to from and communicate own views (Article 12)
    • As a child develops their own views on matters affecting them, they should be allowed to express those views freely and their opinions should be taken into consideration
  • Right to freedom of expression and access to information (Article 13)
    • A child should be given the freedom to express themselves through a range of media including orally, in writing or using art
  • Right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Article 14)
  • Right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly (Article 15)
  • Right to privacy (Article 16)
  • Right to obtain information (Article 17)
    • Particularly where material may be of social or cultural benefit to a child, they should be able to access it via a range of media
  • Primary responsibility for care and protection lies with parents or legal guardians (Article 18)
  • Protection from abuse and neglect (Article 19)
    • This includes any physical, mental or sexual abuse whilst the child is in the care of their parents, legal guardians or any other person responsible for the care of the child
  • Right to special assistance and protection for refugee children (Article 22)
  • Right to special care for children with disabilities (Article 23)
    • The child should always be treated with dignity, encouraged to be self-reliant and be afforded opportunities to participate in their community
  • Right to access health services of the highest possible standard (Article 24)
  • Right to benefit from social security (Article 26)
  • Right to an adequate standard of living (Article 27)
  • Right to education (Article 28)
  • Right to practice own religion and culture for Indigenous and minority children (Article 30)
  • Right to participate in leisure, recreation and cultural activities (Article 31)
  • Protection from economic exploitation (Article 32)
  • Protection from illicit drugs (Article 33)
  • Protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (Article 34)
  • Protection from or prevention of abduction, sale or trafficking and all other forms of exploitation (Article 35 & 36)
  • Protection from torture, or any other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Article 37)
    • Deprivation of liberty should be a measure of last resort for a child and under no circumstances should they be subject to capital punishment or life imprisonment
  • Right to rehabilitative care (Article 39)
  • Rights associated with the administration of justice (Article 40)
    • A child should have support in the preparation and presentation of a defence to any charges brought against them

Australia is also a signatory to the two Optional Protocols to CROC. One deals with the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and the other with the involvement of children in armed conflict.