A/HRC/WG.7/2/2 Article 2 Individual communications 1. Communications may be submitted by or on behalf of an individual or group of individuals, within the jurisdiction of a State party, claiming to be victims of a violation by that State party of any of the rights set forth in: (a) The Convention; (b) The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; (c) The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflict. 2. A State party may, at the time of signature or ratification of the present Protocol or accession thereto, declare that it does not recognize the competence of the Committee provided for in subparagraph 1 (b) and/or (c) of the present article. 3. Any State party having made a declaration in accordance with paragraph 2 of the present article may, at any time, amend or withdraw this declaration by notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. 4. Where a communication is submitted on behalf of an individual or group of individuals, this shall be with their consent unless the author can justify acting on their behalf without such consent. 5. Where the author of a communication is acting on behalf of a child as defined in article 1 of the Convention, or a group of children, the Committee shall determine whether it is in the best interests of the child or group of children concerned to consider the communication. Article 3 Collective communications 1. National human rights institutions and ombudsman institutions and nongovernmental organizations in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council with particular competence in the matters covered by the Convention and the Optional Protocols thereto, which have been approved for that purpose by the Committee, may submit collective communications alleging grave or systematic violations of any of the rights set forth in: (a) The Convention; (b) The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; (c) The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflict. 2. Each State party may, at the time of signature or ratification of the present Protocol or accession thereto, declare that it does not recognize the competence of the Committee provided for in subparagraph 1 (b) and/or (c) of the present article. 3. Any State party may also, at the time of ratification or accession to the present Protocol, or at any time thereafter, declare that it recognizes the right of any national nongovernmental organization within its jurisdiction, which has particular competence in the 4 GE.10-15781