WHO revealed in 2022 that it is estimated that globally, up to 1 billion children, aged 2-17 years experience physical, sexual or emotional violence or neglect on an annual basis.
UNICEF revealed in 2024 that every four minutes a child is killed somewhere in the world, by the act of violence.
Violence against children has lifelong impacts on health and well-being and has serious consequences on many levels; individual, community and society levels along with close-relationship level.
The scale of harm is devastating and underscore the need for standardized cross-sectoral approaches to child protection and participation.
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The Convention of the Rights of the Child is the most widely ratified human rights treaty and has been embedded in many states legal systems. Despite this, the implementation remains fragmented and symbolic in many countries. Many reccommendations from the Committee on the Rights of the Child and OHCHR reflect that fact.
A 2021 European Commission study found that child participation, which is one of the pillars of the Convention, is „still not perceived and implemented as an integral and fundamental part of policy-/decision-making processes,“ and is often treated as an „add-on“ rather than embedded practice.
A UNICEF study of legal implementation in 12 countries provides a proof that if the CRC potential is to be fully realised then everything must be underpinned by systematic children‘s rights training and a robust infrastucture designed to monitor, support and enforce implementation.
A British case study shows that where implementation has been insufficient it is mostly because of three barriers;
The common absence of clear operational framework has meant that compliance with the Convention is perceived as voluntary or symbolic. That might influence political will and the affect the competency of those responsible.
Children´s Rights are not only a legal or ethical imperative and not a subcomponent of governance structure. They are a ethical and rights based human development priority. Children’s Rights are based on a binding international convention – the UNCRC. As such, the need for enduring, scalable solutions to support the operationalization of children’s rights will remain. Given that children often lack the means to advocate for themselves, the creation of a dedicated TC within ISO represents a vital step toward ensuring these rights are respected, protected, and fulfilled in a structured, accountable way.
Structural independence is not just a technical matter; it is a matter of credibility, recognition, and meaningful engagement.
Positioning this work within a governance-focused committee risks sending a message that children’s rights are a managerial issue rather than a rights-based imperative. This would compromise both the credibility of the committee and its ability to secure meaningful participation from the global child rights community.
ISO standards are designed to be globally relevant and adaptable to different legal, cultural, and operational contexts. This flexibility is a defining strength of the ISO system and ensures that standards can be applied meaningfully across diverse settings.
However there are quite a few opportunities to make joint working groups and liasions with other TC´s to ensure coherence.
TC 309 Governance of Organizations
JTC1/SC27 Information security, cybersecurity and privacy protection
Recent ISO experience demonstrates both the feasibility and value of this work. The IWA 49 process on child-friendly multidisciplinary and interagency response services for children who are victims of violence brought together more than 100 experts from 20 countries and key stakeholders, including UNICEF, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Council of Europe, Eurojust, Europol, and survivor networks such as the BRAVE Movement. Child participation was included directly in the process – a first for ISO – and the initiative demonstrated strong stakeholder buy-in and clear demand for further standardization in this field.
The resulting IWA 49 document was officially launched in March 2025 during the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council – a milestone that underscored the growing alignment between international standardization and human rights agendas. The event gained a great attention and here we have four of the main speakers in the publishing event and their comments.
Leading experts emphasize that children’s rights must be treated as a universal priority, requiring global standards, stronger partnerships, and investment in safe and just environments. Their voices converge on a shared message: decisive action is needed now to ensure every child’s dignity, protection, and access to justice.
Strengthening collaboration with these key actors will be a core priority of the new TC. While much excellent work is already being done by the UN system, regional human rights bodies, and civil society, ISO can help support and amplify global efforts. By translating principles, frameworks, and legislation into measurable, auditable tools, ISO can help multiply the reach and effectiveness of existing child rights initiatives and the organizations that lead them.
Child participation
A standard to support ethical, meaningful, and safe participation of children in decision-making processes, aligned with Article 12 of the UNCRC, General Comment No. 12 from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the UN Pact for the future. A 2021 European Commission study found that child participation is “still not perceived and implemented as an integral and fundamental part of policy-/decision-making processes,” and is often treated as an “add-on” rather than embedded practice. A standard could offer organizations concrete, rights-based methods to engage with children appropriately across different contexts.
Child-friendly justice
Including standards for services for children in contact with the justice system, whether as victims, witnesses, or children in conflict with the law. This would align with ongoing work by regional and international human rights bodies including guidelines from the Council of Europe on child-friendly Justice.
Child helpline guidelines
A standard to define minimum requirements for telephone and internet-based helplines that provide advice, support, and safeguarding services for children.
This standard could explicitly support the implementation of obligations under the Council of Europe’s Lanzarote Convention, which requires States to establish telephone or internet-based helplines to provide advice and support to children and the Child Helpline Network that is operated in cooperation of more than 130 countries to support that initiative. The standard could also serve as a framework for child safeguarding protocols in both digital and non-digital service environments, supporting consistency, confidentiality, and accessibility across Member States and service providers.
Children’s rights in digital environments
Development of standards aligned with the Global Digital Compact, including age-appropriate design, privacy and data protection, online safety, consent mechanisms, and ethical AI. These would support child protection and participation in online spaces and digital service delivery and implementation of UN CRC General Comment #25.
Child’s best interests
A standard on child rights impact assessment guides decision-making in institutions and services based on the principle of the child’s best interests serves as a tool for organizations to assess how their policies, services, or operations may positively or negatively affect children’s rights. These would support the implementation of UN CRC General Comment #12, 13 and 14
IWA 49:2025 Child-friendly multidisciplinary and interagency response services for children who are victims of violence – Requirements and recommendations – transformation into an International Standard
Building on the momentum and stakeholder support from IWA 49, this item would formalize the guidance for multidisciplinary and interagency services for child victims of violence as a full ISO standard.
Unaccompanied and refugee children
Guidance for services and systems supporting unaccompanied children in migration, asylum, and displacement contexts, emphasizing protection, case management, and participation.
Child protection requirements
A cross-sectoral framework for organizations to establish, implement, and monitor child safeguarding policies, especially in institutional and service-based environments.
Service requirements for emergency or transitional care settings
Development of minimum requirements for temporary care homes and shelters serving children in crisis, displacement, or at-risk situations.
Terminology
A foundational vocabulary standard that defines key concepts across all areas of children’s rights implementation.
Each deliverable would be developed in consultation with relevant experts, stakeholders, and organizations already active in these domains. The aim is to complement and support existing international efforts – not to replace or duplicate them – by offering technical standards that are accessible, scalable, and adaptable to different legal and cultural contexts.
As of now, some of the stakeholders have indicated their priority when it comes to New Work Items but a consensus on the priority has not been established. Therefore, the balloting time will be used to engage with stakeholders to establish priorities.
The TC would contribute to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including:
The UNCRC will remain in force though long after the current SDG framework concludes.