The Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted ten years ago, on 20 November 1989, by the General Assembly of the United Nations. It entered into force on 2 September 1990. Under article 44 of the Convention, each State party has to submit an initial report within two years of the entry into force of the Convention for that State and thereafter a periodic report every five years. At its second session, in 1992, the Committee decided that it would adopt, at the end of the consideration of each State party's report, concluding observations reflecting the main points of discussion and indicating issues that would require a specific follow-up. The concluding observations provide an evaluation of the report and of the dialogue with the delegation, and make note of positive developments that may have occurred during the period under review, and difficulties affecting the implementation of the Convention, and of specific issues of concern relating to the application of the provisions of the Convention. This volume contains concluding observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child at its third to seventeenth sessions (1993-1998) on reports from 81 States parties.