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Minister Flanagan deposits Ireland’s Ratification of the 3rd Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), with Miguel de Serpa Soares, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, UN

Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan has signed and ratified an important protocol to a UN convention designed to strengthen children’s rights.

The Minister is attending the 69th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York, where world leaders and Foreign Ministers discuss solutions to some of the most pressing geopolitical issues.

This ratification, the 3rd Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), is one of a range of Government initiatives to strengthen children’s rights. It will provide Irish children with a route to a United Nations Committee, which can hear complaints in relation to violations of their rights where all available domestic remedies have been exhausted.

The UNCRC and its Optional Protocols provide the most extensive internationally recognised human rights framework for children.

Speaking from New York, Minister Flanagan said:

I am pleased to sign and ratify the 3rd Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on behalf of Ireland. This important protocol will strengthen and complement national mechanisms allowing children in Ireland to submit complaints for violations of their rights. I would like to pay tribute to my colleague, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, James Reilly, who brought the proposal to ratify this important protocol to Government.

Read the full press release here.