UNCROC reporting
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What is the reporting process?
Every State that ratifies UNCROC must report on how it is fulfilling its human rights obligations. The report is to an elected group of independent experts called the Committee on the Rights of the Child (the Committee). States must report two years after they ratify the Convention. After that, progress reports are made every five years.
The Committee receives Government reports, non-governmental organisation (NGO) reports and other reports, and uses these to prepare a List of Issues for the Government. The Government is required to provide a written response to the List of Issues before a Government delegation attends an examination, where they are interviewed in person by the Committee.
The Committee considers all the evidence it has received and drafts concluding observations on the country it has examined. These set out the Committee's assessment of progress in implementing the Convention in that country, and areas of concern.
The Government is not expected to formally respond to the concluding observations, but should address the issues raised by the Committee and recommendations when it makes its next periodic report to the Committee.
Where is New Zealand currently in this process?
The Committee considered both New Zealand’s Fifth Periodic Report and the Initial Report under the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (OPSC) in February 2016, and delivered their lists of issues to New Zealand on 3 March 2016.
The questions raised by the Committee covered a range of issues, including:
- implementation of UNCROC in New Zealand
- new or amended legislation
- health
- education
- youth justice
- sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography
- updated data and statistics.
New Zealand submitted its response to the two lists of issues to the Committee on 3 June 2016.
A delegation representing the New Zealand Government was examined on both the Fifth Periodic Report and the Initial Report under OPSC at the Committee’s seventy-third session in Geneva, Switzerland on the 15th and 16th September 2016.
New Zealand’s Fifth Periodic Report
New Zealand released a draft Fifth Periodic Report for public consultation between 19 December 2014 and 27 February 2015. Meetings were held in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Email and postal submissions were received, and an online survey was conducted on the Ministry of Social Development’s website.
New Zealand submitted its Fifth Periodic Report to the Committee on 5 May 2015.
Resubmission
The Fifth Periodic Report was shortened to meet UN guidelines in consultation with government agencies and New Zealand resubmitted the Report on 14 December 2015.
What is New Zealand doing to meet its obligations under UNCROC?
There is an on-going programme of work that is improving outcomes for children, young persons and their families and which gives effect to our UNCROC obligations.
Can NGOs provide reports to the Committee?
NGOs including national charities and international bodies such as UNICEF are encouraged to submit reports and provide information to the Committee about the implementation of the Convention in a particular country. The Committee prefers NGOs to work together and submit co-ordinated reports, often called shadow reports.
In September 2010, Action for Children and Youth Aotearoa produced Children and Youth Aotearoa 2010, the New Zealand NGO Alternative Periodic Report to the Committee.
Save the Children produced a report Hear our Voices for the Committee in November 2010.
For more information, go to:
Why are shadow and research reports from NGOs important?
Submissions from NGOs are important because they can focus the Government’s attention on issues of concern to the NGO community and provide valuable insights into children’s rights at a grass-roots level. The Government also welcomes shadow reports because they can propose ways to make more rapid progress implementing UNCROC for the benefit of New Zealand’s children. This process provides useful information to the Government as well as to the United Nations.
Read shadow reports that were submitted to the Committee by the UNCROC Monitoring Group, the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, the Human Rights Commission and Action for Children and Youth Aotearoa.
See the following for guidelines on preparing a submission:
