On 24 March 2021, Armenia ratified the UNCRC Third Optional Protocol on a Communications procedure! It is the 47th country to have ratified the OPIC, the 27th country to become a State party to the instrument in Europe and Central Asia, the region where most of the State parties to the Optional Protocol are from.

According to Article 19.2 of the OPIC, the Protocol will enter into force in Armenia three months after its ratification date, on 24 June 2021, allowing at least 614.201* children to have access to this instrument, if violations about their rights cannot be addressed effectively at national level.

In 2020, a year in which multiple children’s rights violations were brought to light by the Covid-19 crisis, no States ratified the OPIC. We hope that in 2021 more States ratify the OPIC following Armenia’s example.

*Total of population aged 0-14 (World Bank Population Data)