During the Committee on School Climates, the second reading of the draft Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on School Climates was conducted and formally adopted. This milestone represents a significant step forward in recognizing a still underdefined right, the right of every child to grow and learn in a safe, caring, and rights-respecting school environment.
This mobilization stems from a concerning observation: the word “school” does not appear in the original Convention on the Rights of the Child, even though it is within schools that the citizens of tomorrow are shaped each day. Bullying, isolation, and discrimination remain widespread realities that demand a coordinated international response.
The proposed protocol seeks to fill this gap by establishing a common framework to promote and protect positive school climates worldwide.
Its adoption marks only a beginning: United by schools and its partners now call upon United Nations Member States to formally recognize this text as an official Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.