We have a statutory role to advance and monitor the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. We are responsible for raising awareness and understanding of the Children's Convention and advancing and monitoring how the Government applies the Convention to improve outcomes for mokopuna.
We do this by:
- promoting the implementation of the Convention in legislation and policy through our engagement with government agencies and submissions to select committees
- raising awareness of the Convention through all our work, and working with others to help children and young people understand the Convention and what it means for them
- monitoring the Government's implementation of the Convention by coordinating the Children's Convention Monitoring Group.
Te Rōpū Aro turuki
The Children’s Convention Monitoring Group
The Monitoring Group monitors the New Zealand Government’s implementation of the Children’s Convention, it’s Optional Protocols and the Government’s response to recommendations from the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.
The Monitoring Group is convened by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner and includes members from the Human Rights Commission, UNICEF New Zealand, Children's Rights Alliance Aotearoa and Save the Children New Zealand.
In 2017 the Monitoring Group adopted a Terms of Reference. The Group meets regularly to monitor and review the progress made on implementing the Children’s Convention in New Zealand.
The Group also meets twice a year with the Children’s Convention Deputy Chief Executives Group who are the permanent coordinating mechanism for the Convention to discuss how the Government is advancing the rights of children in line with the Children’s Convention. The Monitoring Group and the DCEs Group signed a Terms of Engagement in March 2018.
Ngā pūrongo tūmatanui
Public reporting
The Getting it Right series of reports published by the Monitoring Group focus on legal and policy developments for mokopuna in New Zealand and how those developments align with the Children’s Convention. The reports highlight progress related to children’s rights and identify where New Zealand can do better.