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International Cooperation
We work with international bodies and networks to share information about the issues affecting children and to make sure that children’s rights are respected in Ireland and in other countries.
Reports to the United Nations
Ireland has signed up to many international human rights agreements, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (see the full list of Ireland’s Ratification Status here). Every 5-10 years, a committee of independent experts checks that the Irish Government is keeping the promises it made under each of these agreements, including to respect and protect children’s rights.
UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child reviewed Ireland’s record of implementing children’s rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1998, 2006, 2016 and 2023.
In preparation for the Committee’s review in 2023, the Ombudsman for Children’s Office put together a report led by young people called Pieces of Us (2022). This report compiled the opinions, experiences and voices of children from across Ireland, documenting the issues affecting them and the recommendations for changes needed to laws, policies, and practices to improve children’s lives.
Read our report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2022) here.
In addition to submitting our report to the Committee, the OCO and members of our YAP had the opportunity to travel to Geneva in September 2022 to take part in a pre-sessional meeting with the Committee and present to them our report.
In January 2023, the Committee then questioned representatives from the Government about how it has protected, or failed to protect, children’s rights, and published its ‘Concluding Observations’ in February 2023. This document sets out the Committee’s concerns about the protection of children’s rights in Ireland and its recommendations for the Government in many different areas, including housing, health and living standards, education, discrimination, children with disabilities, migrant and asylum-seeking children, poverty and budgeting.
We welcome the Committee’s Concluding Observations.
Ireland will be reviewed again by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2029.
Universal Periodic Review Process
Under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, countries in the United Nations examine each other’s records of implementing human rights.
This is a human rights monitoring process of the UN Human Rights Council and it allows countries to check whether their peers (other countries) are respecting the international agreements they have signed up to, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In April 2026, the Ombudsman for Children’s Office sent a written report to the UN Human Rights Council before its fourth examination of Ireland’s human rights record. This report highlighted and made recommendations about children’s rights issues in Ireland, including child welfare and protection, youth justice, asylum and immigration, child poverty, homelessness, health services, and education.
You can read our report on the Universal Periodic Review here (PDF).
UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disability
In 2027, Ireland will be reviewed by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disability. The OCO are currently preparing their alternative report which will include a consultation with disabled children.
European Networks
We work together with Ombudspersons for Children (sometimes known as Commissioners for Children) in other countries. This work can include organising meetings and events on important issues affecting children, and sharing information to support the development of policy and legislation across Europe that respects and protects children’s rights.
European Network of Ombudspersons for Children (ENOC)
The European Network of Ombudspersons for Children (ENOC) is a network of independent offices which have been set up in European countries to promote children’s rights. The Ombudsman for Children’s Office is a member of this network, along with offices in 34 other countries.
In September 2016, the Ombudsman for Children, Niall Muldoon, was elected to be one of the seven people who serve on the Bureau, which is the body that runs ENOC and decides the areas that the organisation will focus on. He currently serves as Treasurer of the Network on the ENOC Bureau.
ENOC and ENYA, 2026
ENOC has a child-and-young people participatory project called the European Network of Young Advisors (ENYA). The Ombudsman or Children’s office hosted a 2-day ENYA seminar on the rights of LGBTQIA young people in July 2026, and over 60 young people and adults travelled from across Europe to participate. Many different issues were talked about at this seminar, including reductions in education funding, access to pre-primary school, access to education for children from minority groups (for example, Roma children) and access to education for children with special needs.
The OCO will be hosting a dialogue with ENOC on the subject of ‘Children’s rights at the heart of Europe’ in November 2026, while Ireland holds the EU Presidency. This dialogue aims to assess the current status of children’s rights across Europe, examining issues such as migration, poverty, disability and online safety.
You can find ENOC’s website here.
British and Irish Network of Ombudsman and Children Commissioners (BINOCC)
The British and Irish Network of Ombudsman and Children’s Commissioners (BINOCC) links the four United Kingdom Commissioners for Children (in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) and the Ombudsman for Children in the Republic of Ireland to promote the sharing of information and discussions about common areas of concern which are affecting the rights of children.
