On the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the communications procedure

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The Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated December 19, 2023 No. 47-VIII SAM

To ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the communications procedure, done in New York on December 19, 2011.

President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

K. TOKAEV

OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD ON THE COMMUNICATIONS PROCEDURE

United Nations 2011

The States Parties to this Protocol,

Bearing in mind that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, recognition of the inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

Noting that the States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (hereinafter referred to as "the Convention") recognize all the rights provided for in it for every child within their jurisdiction, without discrimination of any kind, regardless of race, skin color, sex, language, religion, political or other beliefs, national or ethnic origin, or social origin, property status, state of health and birth of the child, his parents or legal guardians, or any other circumstances,

Reaffirming the universality, indivisibility, interdependence and interrelatedness of all human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Reaffirming also the status of the child as a subject of rights and as a human being with inherent dignity and evolving capacities,

Recognizing that the special and dependent situation of children can create real difficulties for them in using legal remedies in case of violations of their rights,

Considering that this Protocol will strengthen and complement national and regional mechanisms and give children the opportunity to file complaints about violations of their rights,

Recognizing that the best interests of the child must be given priority in the application of legal remedies for violations of the rights of the child and that such remedies must take into account the need to use procedures appropriate to the needs of the child at all levels,

Encouraging Participating States to develop appropriate national mechanisms to enable a child whose rights have been violated to have access to effective remedies at the domestic level,

Recalling the important role that national human rights institutions and other specialized agencies charged with promoting and protecting the rights of the child can play in this regard,

Considering that, in order to strengthen and complement such national mechanisms and to further improve the implementation of the Convention and, where applicable, its Optional Protocols on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and on the involvement of children in armed conflict, it would be appropriate to provide the Committee on the Rights of the Child (hereinafter referred to as "the Committee") with the opportunity to the functions provided for in this Protocol,

We have agreed on the following:

PART I GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1 Competence of the Committee on the Rights of the Child

1. A State Party to this Protocol recognizes the competence of the Committee provided for in this Protocol.

2. The Committee shall not exercise its competence over a State party to this Protocol in matters relating to violations of rights provided for in a treaty to which that State is not a party.

3. The Committee shall not accept any communications if they relate to a State that is not a party to the present Protocol.

Article 2 General principles governing the functions of the Committee

In carrying out the functions assigned to it by this Protocol, the Committee shall be guided by the principle of ensuring the best interests of the child. It also takes into account the rights and views of the child, giving due consideration to the views of the child in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.

Article 3 Rules of procedure

1. The Committee shall adopt rules of procedure to be followed in the performance of the functions assigned to it by this Protocol. In doing so, it shall take into account, in particular, article 2 of this Protocol in order to ensure the use of procedures that meet the needs of the child.

2. The Committee includes in its rules of procedure safeguards designed to prevent manipulation of the child by those acting on his behalf, and may refuse to consider any communication that, in its opinion, is not in the best interests of the child.

Article 4 Protective measures

1. The State Party shall take all necessary steps to ensure that persons under its jurisdiction are not subjected to any human rights violations, ill-treatment or intimidation as a result of communications or cooperation with the Committee in accordance with the present Protocol.

2. The identity of any relevant person or group of persons shall not be publicly disclosed without their express consent.

PART II COMMUNICATION PROCEDURE

Article 5 Individual communications

1. Communications may be submitted by or on behalf of individuals or groups of individuals under the jurisdiction of a State party who claim to be victims of a violation by a State party of any of the rights provided for in any of the following treaties to which that State party is a party:

a) The Convention;

(b) Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography;

2. If a message is submitted on behalf of a person or group of persons, this is done with their consent, except in cases where the author can justify his actions on their behalf without such consent.

Article 6 Interim measures

1. At any time after receiving a communication and before reaching a decision on the merits, the Committee may transmit to the State party concerned, for urgent consideration, a request for that State party to take such interim measures as may be necessary in exceptional circumstances to avoid causing possible irreparable harm to the victim or victims of the alleged violations.

2. If the Committee exercises its powers in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article, this does not mean that it has reached a decision on the admissibility or merits of the communication.

Article 7 Admissibility

The Committee considers a communication inadmissible when:

a) the message is anonymous;

(b) The communication is not in writing;

(c) The communication is an abuse of the right to submit such communications or is incompatible with the provisions of the Convention and/or its Optional Protocols;

(d) The same matter has already been considered by the Committee or has been or is being considered under another procedure of international investigation or settlement;

(e) All available domestic remedies have not been exhausted. This rule does not apply in cases where the implementation of legal remedies is unreasonably delayed or unlikely to provide effective assistance.;

f) the report is clearly unfounded or insufficiently substantiated;

(g) The facts that are the subject of the communication occurred prior to the entry into force of this Protocol for the State Party concerned, unless those facts continued after that date.;

(h) The communication has not been submitted within one year of the exhaustion of domestic remedies, unless the author can prove that it was impossible to send the communication within that period.

Article 8 Transmission of a message

1. Unless the Committee considers a communication inadmissible without mentioning the State Party concerned, the Committee shall bring any communication submitted to it under the present Protocol to the attention of the State Party concerned as soon as possible in confidence.

2. The State Party shall submit to the Committee written explanations or statements clarifying the matter and the remedies, if any, that it could provide. The State party shall provide a response as soon as possible within six months.

Article 9 Friendly settlement

1. The Committee shall provide its good offices to the parties concerned in order to achieve an amicable settlement of the issue based on respect for the obligations set out in the Convention and/or its Optional Protocols.

2. An agreement on an amicable settlement reached under the auspices of the Committee shall entail the termination of consideration of the communication under this Protocol.

Article 10 Reviewing messages

1. The Committee shall consider communications received under this Protocol as soon as possible in the light of all documentation made available to it, provided that such documentation has been transmitted to the parties concerned.

2. The Committee shall hold closed meetings when considering communications received in accordance with this Protocol.

3. In cases where the Committee requests the application of interim measures, it expedites the consideration of the communication.

4. When considering a communication on alleged violations of economic, social and cultural rights, the Committee shall consider the reasonableness of the steps taken by the State party in accordance with article 4 of the Convention. In doing so, the Committee takes into account that the State party may take a number of possible policy measures to implement the economic, social and cultural rights enshrined in the Convention.

5. After reviewing the communication, the Committee shall promptly transmit its views on the communication, together with its recommendations, if any, to the relevant parties.

Article 11 Follow-up measures

1. The State party shall give due consideration to the Committee's Views, together with its recommendations, if any, and provide the Committee with a written response, including information on any actions that have been taken or are expected to be taken in the light of the Committee's views and recommendations. The State party submits its response as soon as possible and within six months.

2. The Committee may invite the State party to provide, as appropriate, additional information on any measures taken by the State party in response to its views or recommendations, or on the implementation of the amicable settlement agreement, if any, including, if the Committee deems it appropriate, in the State party's subsequent reports on article 44 of the Convention, article 12 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, or article 8 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention, concerning the involvement of children in armed conflict.

Article 12 Interstate communications

1. A State Party to the present Protocol may at any time declare that it recognizes the competence of the Committee to receive and consider communications in which one State Party claims that another State Party is not fulfilling its obligations under any of the following treaties to which the State party is a party:

a) The Convention;

(b) Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography;

2. The Committee shall not accept communications concerning a State party that has not made such a declaration or communications from a State party that has not made such a declaration.

3. The Committee shall provide its good offices to the States parties concerned with a view to resolving the issue amicably, based on respect for the obligations set out in the Convention and its Optional Protocols.

4. A declaration in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article shall be deposited by the States Parties with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall transmit copies thereof to the other States Parties. The application may be withdrawn at any time by notification to the Secretary General. Such withdrawal shall not preclude the consideration of any matter that is the subject of a communication already transmitted in accordance with this article.; Upon receipt by the Secretary-General of the notification of withdrawal of a declaration, no further communications under this article shall be received from any State Party, unless the State Party concerned has made a new declaration.

PART III INVESTIGATION PROCEDURE

Article 13 Procedure for investigating gross or systematic violations

1. If the Committee receives reliable information indicating gross or systematic violations by a State party of the rights provided for in the Convention or its Optional Protocols on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and on the involvement of children in armed conflict, the Committee invites that State party to cooperate in the examination of such information and, to this end, to submit promptly comments on relevant information.

2. Taking into account any comments that may be submitted by the State party concerned, as well as any other reliable information available to it, the Committee may appoint one or more of its members to conduct an investigation and submit an urgent report to the Committee. Where justified and with the consent of the State party, the investigation may include a visit to its territory.

3. Such an investigation is conducted confidentially and the cooperation of the State party is sought at all stages of the process.

4. After examining the findings of such an investigation, the Committee shall promptly transmit these findings to the State party concerned, together with any comments and recommendations.

5. The State party concerned shall submit its observations to the Committee as soon as possible within six months of receiving the conclusions, comments and recommendations transmitted by the Committee.

6. After completing such a process in respect of an investigation conducted in accordance with paragraph 2 of this article, the Committee may, after consultation with the State Party concerned, decide to include a summary account of the results of this process in its report provided for in article 16 of this Protocol.

7. Each State Party may, at the time of signing, ratifying or acceding to this Protocol, declare that it does not recognize the competence of the Committee provided for in this article with respect to the rights set forth in some or all of the treaties listed in paragraph 1.

8. Any State Party that has made a declaration in accordance with paragraph 7 of this article may at any time withdraw that declaration by notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Article 14 Follow-up to the investigation procedure

1. After the end of the six-month period referred to in article 13, paragraph 5, the Committee may, if necessary, invite the State Party concerned to inform it of the measures taken or envisaged in response to an investigation conducted in accordance with the provisions of article 13 of the present Protocol.

2. The Committee may invite the State party to provide, as appropriate, additional information on any measures that the State party has taken in response to the investigation conducted in accordance with article 13, including, if the Committee deems it appropriate, in the State party's subsequent reports under article 44 of the Convention, under article 12 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, or under article 8 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflict.

PART IV FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 15 International assistance and cooperation

1. With the consent of the State Party concerned, the Committee may transmit to the specialized agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations and other competent authorities its views or recommendations on communications and investigations that indicate the need for technical advice and support, together with the comments and suggestions of the State party, if any, on these considerations and recommendations.

2. With the consent of the State Party concerned, the Committee may also bring to the attention of such bodies any issues arising from communications that have been examined under the present Protocol and that may assist them in making decisions by each of them, within its area of competence, on the appropriateness of international measures that could contribute to assisting States parties in progress in the implementation of the rights recognized in the Convention and/or its Optional Protocols.

Article 16 Report to the General Assembly

The Committee shall include in its biennial report to the General Assembly, in accordance with paragraph 5 of article 44 of the Convention, a summary of its activities under the present Protocol.

Article 17 Awareness-raising and information on the Optional Protocol

Each State Party undertakes to widely publicize and disseminate this Protocol and to facilitate access to information on the Committee's Views and recommendations, in particular with regard to issues affecting that State Party, using appropriate and effective means in accessible formats for both adults and children, including persons with disabilities.

Article 18 Signature, ratification and accession

1. This Protocol shall be open for signature by any State that has signed, ratified or acceded to the Convention or one of the first two Optional Protocols thereto.

2. This Protocol is subject to ratification by any State that has ratified or acceded to the Convention or one of the first two Optional Protocols thereto. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

3. This Protocol is open for accession by any State that has ratified or acceded to the Convention or one of the first two Optional Protocols thereto.

4. Accession shall be effected by depositing an instrument of accession with the Secretary-General.

Article 19 Entry into force

1. This Protocol shall enter into force three months after the deposit of the tenth instrument of ratification or accession.

2. For each State that ratifies or accedes to this Protocol after the deposit of the tenth instrument of ratification or accession, this Protocol shall enter into force three months after the date of deposit of its own instrument of ratification or accession.

Article 20 Violations after entry into force

1. The competence of the Committee extends only to violations by a State party of any of the rights provided for in the Convention and/or the first two Optional Protocols thereto that occur after the entry into force of this Protocol.

2. If a State becomes a party to this Protocol after its entry into force, that State's obligations to the Committee relate only to violations of the rights provided for in the Convention and/or the first two Optional Protocols thereto that occur after the entry into force of this Protocol for the State concerned.

Article 21 Amendments

1. Any State Party may propose an amendment to this Protocol and submit it to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-General shall transmit any proposed amendments to the States Parties with a request to indicate whether they favour convening a meeting of the States Parties for the purpose of considering and deciding on these proposals. If, within four months from the date of such notification, at least one third of the States Parties support the convening of such a meeting, the Secretary-General shall convene the meeting under the auspices of the United Nations. Any amendment adopted by a two-thirds majority vote of the States Parties present and voting shall be submitted by the Secretary-General to the General Assembly for approval and thereafter to all States Parties for adoption.

2. An amendment adopted and approved in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the number of instruments of acceptance deposited reaches two thirds of the number of States Parties at the date of adoption of the amendment. Thereafter, the amendment shall enter into force for any State Party on the thirtieth day after the deposit of its own instrument of acceptance. The amendment is binding only on those States Parties that have accepted it.

Article 22 Denunciation

1. Any State Party may denounce this Protocol at any time by written notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The denunciation shall take effect one year after the date of receipt of this notification by the Secretary General.

2. The denunciation shall not preclude the continued application of the provisions of this Protocol to any communication submitted in accordance with articles 5 or 12, or to any investigation initiated in accordance with article 13, prior to the effective date of the denunciation.

Article 23 Depositary and notification by the Secretary General

1. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall be the depositary of this Protocol.

2. The Secretary-General shall inform all States of:

(a) Signatures, ratifications and accessions in accordance with this Protocol;

(b) The date of entry into force of this Protocol and any amendments thereto in accordance with article 21;

Article 24 Languages

1. The present Protocol, of which the Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the United Nations.

2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall transmit certified copies of this Protocol to all States.

I hereby confirm that the above text is an exact copy of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the communications procedure, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 19, 2011, the original of which has been deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

For the Secretary General, Legal Adviser (Under Secretary General for Legal Affairs) Signed by Patricia O'Brien The United Nations New York, February 7, 2012

President

Republic of Kazakhstan

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