On 4 February, the UN’s Committee on the Rights of the Child adopted its General Comment no. 25 on children’s rights in the digital environment, a long time in the making. A General Comment is a document which builds upon a treaty, in this case the Convention on the Rights of the Child: though not legally binding, it provides authoritative guidance and interpretation of how states should implement the Convention in relation to a particular issue.
The adoption of this General Comment is, therefore, an extremely exciting development, clarifying exactly what the digital environment means for children and their rights, including privacy, freedom of speech, play, and many more. It explains how states should act to ensure that children’s rights are protected in relation to the digital environment.
Many of the key areas relating to children and the digital environment pertain to the manifold risks it can pose to them, ranging from recruitment by extremist groups and grooming, to cyber-bullying, and fraud. Unequal access to digital technologies is also a significant concern: certain groups of children are unable to enjoy the many opportunities the digital environment brings, including street-connected children, children on the move, and children in the child justice system. The General Comment provides an excellent starting point for the long-overdue work by states and other actors, including private entities, to begin to address these issues.
At the same time, the digital world provides children with a never-before-seen possibility for connection and engagement, across geographical and other divides. It is clear from the consultations undertaken in preparation of the General Comment that children see digital technologies as essential: one participant noted; “I express [online] what I see as important through my eyes in the world”. For many marginalised groups of children, such as LGBTQIA+ children, the internet provides a space for sharing, friendship forming, and community which can be a lifeline to those who are isolated. At the Consortium for Street Children, we are working to develop a ‘Digitally Connecting Street Children’ platform, with social media like capacities, to enable street-connected children around the world to engage safely with each other, share experiences, and find a global community of peers.
THE RIGHT TO BE HEARD
Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantees a child “who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.” Article 12 has been elaborated on by the Committee on General Comment no. 12. The right to be heard is one of the four key principles of the Convention. This is a right all children have, with no exception, and yet the reality is often that many children - particularly those in vulnerable situations - simply do not have access to the spaces in which their voices most need be heard.
General Comment 25 includes specific mention of the ways in which access to the digital environment offers children crucial opportunities for their voices to be heard: these opportunities can and should include the possibility for children’s voices to be heard at the international, multilateral level. It seems timely, therefore, that spurred on by the milestone of the General Comment, we make the most of the opportunities offered by the digitisation of high-level UN human rights fora and bring children’s voices into the room with vigour.
WHAT POSSIBILITIES DOES THE CURRENT MOMENT OFFER US?
One exciting possibility for children's rights, forged by the combination of children's increased access to digital technologies and by the COVID-19 pandemic, is the opportunity for children to speak directly to world leaders and experts on issues that matter to them. In one of the pandemic's many unexpected consequences, the move to digital meeting options has provided a limited democratisation of access to these spaces.
In November 2020, the Committee on the Rights of the Child carried out its review of the progress of the implementation of the CRC in The Philippines. As usual, part of the review process involved a Children's Meeting, where children from the country concerned are invited to discuss their perspectives on the situation. The use of the online platform enabled Bahay Tuluyan, a member of the Consortium for Street Children's network in the Philippines, to support three children they work with the speak directly to the Committee about the issues which are most important to them.
GIVING CHILDREN THE FLOOR
During the upcoming 46th session of the Human Rights Council, the Council’s Annual Discussion on the Rights of the Child will focus on child rights in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Two panel discussions will be held with one child speaker on each, and NGOs will be able to deliver statements via pre-recorded video message as part of the ‘hybrid’ format. A small group of NGOs, including the Consortium for Street Children, will give their speaker slots to a child to enable them to speak directly to the Human Rights Council on issues which are important to them. Uniquely, the children selected will have been involved in a process of national consultations, facilitated by organisations who they have existing, strong relationships with, regarding their views on the SDGs in relation to their own lives.
What’s more, it is likely that at least one state will make a child a member of their delegation for the occasion of the Annual Discussion, enabling them to speak from the floor on behalf of their state. This is something which, only a few years ago, seemed like an impossibility. All credit for these developments lies with the brilliant children who have spoken in these spaces over recent years, whose powerful insights have opened the eyes of the unconvinced to the absolute necessity of enabling children to speak for themselves, directly to those in power, and the value they bring to these conversations. Listening to children is essential not only because it is a child’s inherent right, but also because solutions developed by policymakers who have consulted and listened to children and their lived realities are more likely to have the desired impact.
At the Consortium for Street Children, we will contend with a system clearly designed for people far from street-connected children: the requirement that participants provide a passport scan to attend a virtual meeting is just one barrier that leaves behind those whose voices most need to be heard. We must also be honest about the huge inequality in access to technology: for many children, without their own access to technology or access through a school or organisation, such opportunities remain distant.
As child rights advocates it is our responsibility to strive to seek out and seize these opportunities for children’s voices to be heard at the highest level, and to enable them and their words to demonstrate the unique and profound value they bring. We must push for opportunities for children to express their views in ways which are meaningful, transparent and child centred for children in all their diversity, including via digital means. Meaningful child participation requires space, opportunity, audience and influence, and we will continue to encourage participation opportunities which meet this important standard.
Lucy Halton is a child rights advocate who works as Legal and Advocacy Officer at the Consortium for Street Children, where she advocates with street-connected children from a global network for the full protection and promotion of their rights. She holds an MA in Human Rights Law from SOAS and has experience of working with children and young people from a range of backgrounds.