The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (hereinafter CRC) was adopted unanimously on November 20th, 1989 by the General Assembly on the UN, and came into force on September 2nd, 1992. Greece ratified the Convention with the Law N. 2101 on December 3rd, 1992 without any reservations with regard to its content. Since then the Convention has been incorporated into the Greek legal system, and according to the Greek Constitution, its provisions prevail in case they contradict national law. The CRC is characterized as the most complete Convention in the field of human rights, incorporating civil, political, economic, social and cultural right, previous declarations, international regulations targets to protect the children, almost half of the population of the earth. It is also considered as a very important act, legally binding, according to international law, on all states that have ratified it, 194 member states of the UN.On May 25th, 2000 the General Assembly of the UN adopted two Optional Protocols the first on the involvement of children in armed conflict and the second on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography trying to ameliorate categories of vulnerable children found under difficult situation. On December 19th, 2011 a third Optional Protocol was adopted by the Human Rights Council and the 3rd Committee of the General Assembly, ready to be signed by the member states of the UN. This new Protocol allows individual children to submit complaints regarding specific violations of their rights under the Convention and its two Optional Protocols.
Keywords: CRC, vulnerable children, Greece
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