WE NEED YOU – SIGN FOR CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
Because Sweden hasn’t ratified the Third Optional Protocol, children here have no recourse when their rights are violated and the national system lets them down. As children’s rights are increasingly under threat, we need you to help protect them.
Your signature helps us call on the government to ratify the Third Optional Protocol – and take children’s rights seriously.
LEARN MORE AND SIGN THE PETITIONYour signature will be presented to the government along with a request that it ratifies the Third Optional Protocol. You’ll receive updates via email from Backa Demokratin, but can unsubscribe whenever you want.
Isn’t the Convention already law in Sweden?
Yes – Sweden took an important step by incorporating the Convention on the Rights of the Child into its national law. But we still haven’t ratified* the Third Optional Protocol, and that makes a big difference. This Protocol allows children to take their case to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child if their rights are violated and justice isn’t served nationally (in this case in Sweden).
A law is only as strong as the mechanisms to enforce it. Help us demand that the Convention be applied fully and in practice, not just on paper.
*make legally binding
SIGN THE PETITIONGive children the right to complain more
Children’s rights are violated more and more often in Sweden. The fact that the Convention doesn’t fully apply here is a serious gap in children’s legal protection.
The Third Optional Protocol gives children a pathway to justice by allowing them to file a complaint with the UN. By granting children the same international legal recourse as adults, we show that children’s rights are just as important.
It’s a concrete step toward making children’s rights real, not just aspirational.
SIGN THE PETITIONTime for Sweden to be best in class again
Sweden has long been a role model for human rights. But when it comes to children’s rights, we’re falling behind. As of April 2025, 52 countries had ratified the Protocol – including Finland, Denmark, Germany, Bolivia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Ukraine.*
Sweden still hasn’t. Without the Protocol, the Convention doesn’t fully apply. So what are we waiting for?
SIGN THE PETITION*Full list of countries: Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, New Zealand, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Moldova, Samoa, San Marino, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey and Ukraine.
A FEW GOOD REASONS TO RATIFY*
*make it legally binding in Sweden
Gives children an international voice
Children can lodge a complaint with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child when their national system fails them.
Awareness of children’s rights
Seeking justice is a fundamental right. Recognising this right for children sends a powerful message: their rights matter just as much as adults’.
Offers a real pathway to justice
Legally, children often risk falling between the cracks. This Protocol offers them a vital last resort.
Holds the government accountable
International scrutiny makes states more likely to implement the Convention fully.
Builds stronger justice systems for children
National courts and public authorities are encouraged to improve children’s access to justice.
Boosts Sweden’s credibility in terms of human rights
Ratifying the Protocol shows that Sweden is serious about human rights, at home and abroad.
Protects the most vulnerable
Children in high-risk situations (refugees, those in custody disputes or with disabilities) gain a safety net when their rights are ignored.
About Civil Rights Defenders
Civil Rights Defenders is a politically and religiously independent human rights organisation. We partner with and support human rights defenders who work in some of the world’s most repressive regions on four continents. Through advocacy, litigation, and public campaigns, we advance people’s rights globally. We also act as Sweden’s civil rights watchdog.
Civil Rights Defenders was founded as the Swedish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in 1982 with the purpose of monitoring compliance with the human rights provisions of the Helsinki Final Act. In 2009, the organisation was renamed Civil Rights Defenders.