Professor Nolan aids drafting of new CRC General Comment

In July 2016, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) issued General Comment No. 19 on public budgeting for the realization of children’s rights (art. 4). Article 4 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) states that, inter alia, States parties shall undertake such measures to the maximum extent of their available resources in relation to economic, social and cultural rights. In their latest general comment the UNCRC lay out how State parties can effectively implement Article 4 CRC in relation to public budgeting.  

Professor Aoife Nolan, Head of HRLC’s Economic and Social Rights Unit, served as an expert advisor on the General Comment and contributed to its drafting. Professor Nolan has been working on the issue of budgets and children’s rights for a number of years and in 2013 published a ground-breaking and highly influential article on the topic in the International Journal of Children’s Rights entitled, Economic and Social Rights, Budgets and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 

Speaking of the new General Comment Professor Nolan said:

'The realisation of all children’s rights – whether civil, cultural, political, social or economic – is dependent on resources to some degree. The General Comment will be an invaluable tool for the growing number of policymakers, advocates and academics working on strengthening the link between children’s rights and budgetary decision-making.’