Consultations 

The second phase of consultations on the first draft of the General Comment on Children’s Rights and the Environment with a Special Focus on Climate Change (General Comment No. 26) has now ended. We would like to thank the thousands of children, young people and adults from all across the world who participated in offline and online consultations and workshops, between December 2021 and February 2023. We are looking forward to sharing the findings with you in the near future.

The consultations were designed to support children, young people and the wider global community to inform both the draft and final version of the General Comment No.26. This included helping to fill gaps in current understanding of certain key issues and clarify difficult concepts (e.g. rights of future generations). Most importantly, the consultations were designed to ensure the General Comment is informed by the voices of children and young people, and those most impacted by environmental harm and climate change.

The findings from the consultations with children will also be used to create a Children’s Global Charter, an inspirational message from children around the world on their vision for a safe, healthy and sustainable world that respects their rights. This will be made up of children’s own words and artwork and be launched alongside General Comment No. 26 to raise awareness of why it is so important for children.

Consultations take the form of:

• Online consultations: The public is invited to share their views on the content and first draft of the General Comment. This will be done through two types of online questionnaires and open submission forms that will be circulated widely. The first seeks answers on a broad set of topics on children’s rights and the environment that will inform the creation of the General Comment first draft. The second will request feedback on the first draft of the General Comment. Both questionnaires will have a child and youth version in order to collect their specific perspectives.
• Thematic workshops: We will bring together experts, young and old, to discuss specific topics related to children’s rights and the environment, including intergenerational equity, the right to a healthy environment and climate change. These discussions will help form the content that will be included in the first draft of the General Comment.
• Regional and local workshops: Once the first draft of the General Comment is developed, workshops will be hosted with children and young people and the global community across regions and sectors. These workshops will provide the Committee with opportunities to ensure regional priorities are considered in the final version. It will also ensure children and young people from marginalised backgrounds are supported to participate in the drafting process.