About CRIN

Mission

CRIN is a global network coordinating and promoting information and action on child rights. More than 2,000 member organisations and tens of thousands more activists from across the world rely on CRIN for research and information.

CRIN presses for rights, not charity, for children and is guided by a passion for putting children’s rights at the top of the global agenda by addressing root causes and promoting systematic change. Its guiding framework is the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

CRIN’s activities are based on the belief that information is a powerful tool for realising children’s rights. CRIN distributes news, events and reports, lobbies, enables advocacy and promotes knowledge sharing and coordination. CRIN participates in international child rights coalitions and advocacy groups, supports campaigns and makes the UN and regional mechanisms more accessible to those lobbying for social change.

Beliefs

• That children’s rights, as coded in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, should be respected, fulfilled and protected

• That the provision, distribution and sharing of information is crucial for the realisation of this goal.
• That ICT can and should empower practitioners from all corners of the globe to better understand and implement children’s rights 
  
  

Objectives

• To enable members of the child rights community, and others, to understand and implement the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
• To educate and inform, particularly on new and emerging issues in child rights
• To support and fuel the advocacy initiatives of members and other child rights organisations, for example by hosting petitions and providing a platform for joint campaigns
  
• To lobby and advocate for the implementation of children’s rights and their mainstreaming in all United Nations mechanisms
  
• To develop a more explicit focus on key audiences, identified by their ability to achieve greater recognition of children’s rights.

Activities

On our website, you can find out about national and international child rights laws, child rights mechanisms, and information on child rights in your country

You can also get help with, among other things, your media activities, strategic litigation, as well as submitting reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and to the Human Rights Council.

In fact, you can find NGO alternative reports submitted to the CRC, according to year, country and session, here

You can find news, reports or events on our website too.

We host microsites on Violence Against Children and Rights-Based Programming, as well as the websites of other networks that share our values and goals: the European Network of Ombudspersons (ENOC), the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Better Care Network and the European Children's Network (EURONET).

The A to Z of child rights, meanwhile, cuts through some of the child rights jargon, while you can find out more about specific issues or themes via our website.

We can also come to you, and save you the bother of coming to us, if you subscribe to our CRINMAILs. These e-letters contain news, information about advocacy initiatives/campaigns, reports, events, and a wealth of other information. We also produce annual or biannual CRIN Reviews for our members.

Look out for advocacy initiatives and petitions  - we are hoping to get more involved with these. Our latest have been on banning the juvenile death penalty, and establishing a complaints mechanism under the CRC.

Achievements

• A successful campaign for a resolution to appoint a Special Representative to the UN Secretary General on Violence Against Children
• Providing a civil society gateway to the UN Study on Violence Against Children
• Enabling organisations and individuals to participate in the Human Rights Council and in the work of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. 
• Enabling organisations to successfully advocate for changes in national legislation to reflect the CRC.
• Established coordination portal for the European Network of Ombudspersons
• Promoting the mainstreaming of child rights at the UN, via participation in working groups and at the advisory level.
• Facilitating communication between governments, activists, NGOs and UN agencies on child rights issues. 
• Supporting the work of the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and facilitating communication between the NGO Group, civil society and the Committee on the Rights of the Child.
• Working on a campaign to encourage the establishment of a communications procedure to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Funding

The network is supported, and receives funding from The Tides Foundation, The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Save the Children Sweden, UNICEF and World Vision International. Project funding is also received from the Westminster Foundation for Democracy and the Oak Foundation.

Membership

CRIN has a membership of more than 2,000 organisations in 150 countries. We aim to have members in all countries by the end of 2009. In addition to working with member organisations, CRIN services the information needs of thousands organisations and individuals who have joined our mailing lists.

Find

Download CRIN Reviews
See our lists of key readings on various topics: CRIN Readers
Download our Research paper  on Managing Flows of Information
CRIN Annual Report 2007