Local issues on the global stage: Reporting on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

In 2015/16 Action for Children and Youth Aotearoa (ACYA) prepared, produced and presented New Zealand’s fifth civil society, non-government organisations’ Alternative Report to the UN Committee on the Rights of
the Child on how well Aotearoa New Zealand complies with its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This article describes the reporting cycle and uses ACYA’s reports to illustrate how successive Governments have consistently breached children’s rights. It is argued that the reporting process and the UN’s recommendations are an important advocacy tool.