AbstractThe adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the UN General Assembly in 1989 marked a shift in paradigm from viewing children as the possession of parents and objects of welfare to individuals with rights. At the outset of the second millennium, two optional protocols to the Convention (Optional Protocol on Children in Armed Conflict and Optional Protocol on Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, Child Pornography) were adopted in 2000. The need for a communications procedure was suggested from the very beginning of the drafting process. This article will discuss developments leading to the establishment of an open-ended working group for the elaboration of a communications procedure, 3rd Optional Protocol to the CRC. Concerns, questions, and the discussion surrounding the scope and content of the Optional Protocol will be elaborated.
2. Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict