Advancing Children’s Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment: Guidance on General Comment No.26

This guidance answers the question: How can civil society support the implementation of General Comment No.26?

In 2023, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child launched General Comment No. 26 on children’s rights and the environment, with a special focus on climate change. This Guidance to General Comment No.26 (GC26) unpacks it and looks at entry points and practical steps for civil society to use it in programming and advocacy. The objective is to provide inspiration and to be a catalyst for action for implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as it relates to children’s right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

This Guidance is aimed mainly at civil society organisations that are grappling with complex issues regarding the impact of climate change and environmental degradation on children’s rights. It can also be relevant to other stakeholders interested in the implementation of GC26.

It is divided into two parts and has a number of complementary annexes:
Part 1: What is General Comment No. 26 and why is it important?
Part 2: How can civil society use GC26?  (the heart of the guidance!)

It also includes a number of annexes providing additional information and tools. Please use the Contents page to aid navigation and identify the sections and activities that are most important for your work.

How to use it?
This Guidance introduces GC26 and is the first part of a larger toolkit on GC26 in development, which will  include thematic Explainers looking at different aspects of children’s rights, such as Education, Protection and Civil and Political Rights. It should be read in conjunction with these specific Explainers but also stands alone as a resource for civil society.