35 years ago, the Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, and world leaders made a commitment to children – to give every girl and boy a better world.
As the first Pacific Islander to sit on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) until 2023, Justice Nelson from Samoa says: “There is no doubting the value the CRC has added to the world of children who now enjoy many rights and freedoms not previously available to them.”
To commemorate 35 years since the CRC came into force in 1990 (adopted 1989), Justice Nelson was invited to speak at the First Annual Child Rights Symposium for Australia and the Asia-Pacific, called CRC at 35: Developments in children’s rights in Australia, Asia-Pacific, and the World. It was hosted by the University of Western Sydney in late 2024.
While the CRC commemorates its 35th anniversary, some of its sister commitments mark 30 years in 2024-25: the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPA, 1995) that complements the Pacific Platform for Action on Gender Equality and Women’s Human Rights (PPA, 1994). Achieving gender equality and enhancing the wellbeing of women and girls of all diversities is central to the roadmap provided by the Pacific Platform for Action (PPA).
Complementing each other, the CRC and the PPA – and the global Beijing Platform for Action (BPA) – commit to equality and protecting the rights of children, including girls in all their diversity, from discrimination based on sex or gender.
“The CRC represents promises made to the children of the world based on the acceptance and understanding that they merit special consideration,” said Justice Nelson during the CRC at 35 event.
“In the words of the Convention, children should be permitted to ‘grow up in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding’ and with ‘peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity", said Justice Nelson.
Justice Nelson is concerned by the discrimination women and girls face, how they are subject to abuse and neglect, and in some places have no right to speak or be heard, just like children – given the girl child will one day become a woman facing the same challenges of a woman, particularly if she is not given equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities.
Why should we care?
Almost four decades on, there is still hope, according to Justice Nelson, though there is still work to do to ensure every child, including the girl child, reaches her full potential.
“The shining beacon of light in all of this darkness remains the lofty and inspired aims and aspirations of the Conventions, the CRC and CEDAW [Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women], and the UN Treaty Body System, as well as [human rights] advocates and civil society.”
Justice Nelson believes the CRC and CEDAW are connected, and implementing them together enhances the rights of girls - when girls and women are empowered by their rights, it benefits boys and men as it advances the future of their families, communities and nations.
“We must strive to do better if we are to realise the full potential of the Conventions and safeguard the wellbeing and security of not only the boys and girls of tomorrow but also the children of today. This includes not only physical health and wellbeing but also mental health and wellbeing.”
“Let us call for a redoubling of efforts and a renewed commitment to the Conventions and what it stands for.”
The Pacific continues to be actively leading in these spaces. In 2020, the CRC held an in-country session for the first time ever in the Treaty Bodies system in Apia, Samoa. In 2025, Fiji will host the April 2025 CEDAW Pacific Technical Cooperation Session – the first time a CEDAW Committee Session will be held outside of Geneva and also in the Pacific.
Impressively, the CRC is the most widely ratified human rights treaty, with 196 State parties committing, while there are 189 State parties that have committed to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), with many countries committing to both treaties.
“Children today face more challenges, inequities, threats to their survival, wellbeing and very existence than at any previous time in history,” said Justice Nelson. He added that challenges include “the horror of Gaza, the Ukraine, Yemen, Sudan and other parts of the world; dangers posed to children by the dizzying development of digital space and the internet; all overshadowed by the existential threat of climate change and the effect it is having and will continue to have on the survival and particular needs of children.”
Read more about the:
- Pacific Platform for Action (PPA) and its links to regional commitments and partners
- CEDAW Pacific Technical Cooperation Session, April 2025
- The Pacific, its PPA and the BPA at CSW69, March 2025: 30 Year Anniversaries for Gender Equality Platforms in the Pacific and Globally | Human Rights and Social Development
About Justice Nelson
Samoan-born Justice Vui Clearance Nelson sits in the Supreme Court of Samoa, is an ad-hoc Justice of the Samoa Court of Appeal, and is a Judge of the Land & Titles Court (Appellate Division). He is also a member of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the body of 18 independent experts which monitors the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by its State parties. Patron of the Pacific Island Lawyers Human Rights Network and a mentor for the Samoa Victim Support Group, Judge Justice has been a longstanding advocate for children's rights and the protection of young victims of sexual violence.
