General Comment 13 (GC13) institutes a child rights-based approach to child caregiving and protection. Through GC13, the Committee encourages a paradigm shift to understand and apply Article 19 within the CRC’s overall perspective on securing children’s rights to survival, dignity, well-being, health and development, participation and non-discrimination. The Committee emphasizes in the strongest terms that child protection must begin with proactive prevention of all forms of violence as well as explicitly prohibiting all forms of violence. Furthermore, it declares the need to avoid fragmented
initiatives and encourages implementing measures instead through a child rights-based, comprehensive coordinating framework. GC13 articulates the first UN-related ‘official’ definition of a ‘child rights-based approach.’
