At the election held during the 20th Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child at UN Headquarters in New York this morning, Dr. Rinchen Chophel, Bhutan’s candidate for membership in the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), was re-elected to serve a four-year term from 2025 to 2029. The Committee also opted to include independent experts recommended by the governments of Mauritania, Kenya, Zambia, Belgium, Ethiopia, Georgia, Moldova, and Malta.
The CRC, a group of eighteen independent specialists, oversees the CRC’s execution. In addition, it is in charge of enforcing the Convention’s two Optional Protocols, which address the selling, prostitution, and pornography of minors as well as their involvement in armed conflict.
Dr. Rinchen Chophel currently serves as Vice Chair and Rapporteur of the CRC. The Royal Government of Bhutan nominated him for re-election in recognition of his significant contributions to the CRC and his over 30 years of experience in promoting and protecting children’s rights at both national and international levels. Dr. Chophel is also the Director General of the South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC) and the Vice Chairman of Project 100.
The interests and welfare of children have always come first for the Royal Government, which is a State Party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Bhutan is dedicated to providing a safer atmosphere where children may flourish and realize their aspirations while shielding them from maltreatment, neglect, and illness.
