Welcome to the United Nations
Contribution to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in response to a call for inputs to the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF)
1. Introduction
This submission is made by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC Committee) as a response to the invitation extended to various functional commissions and other intergovernmental bodies and forums by the President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to provide inputs to the 2022 HLPF on its review of a number of SDGs under the theme “Building back better from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
The direct link between a number of the SDGs (and their respective targets) and the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is increasingly well recognized. Just as an example, Target 1.2, which plans to “reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions”, is directly relevant for Article 27(1) of the CRC on adequate standard of living. Article 6(2) of the CRC, which requires State Parties to “ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child” also resonates with this same target. In fact, given the close link between the SDGs and children, UNICEF has been made responsible for eight global SDG indicators and co-custodian for a further eleven, and supports countries in generating, analysing and using data for these indicators for all their citizens.
Leaving no one behind, and reaching those who are furthest behind first, has important significance for children’s rights. After all, a good number of groups of persons who are at risk of being left behind, including “all children, youth, …”, are explicitly mentioned in Agenda 2030.
This as a backdrop, for the purpose of brevity, and in order to comply with the guidance provided for the submission, this input will only focus on SDGs 4 on quality education, 5 on gender equality, and 17 on partnerships.
