The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommends that all governments conduct ex-ante child rights impact assessments as part of their obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (see General Implementation Measures, Article 4 of CRC, General comments 4 and 5). This process should apply to all policy and programme decisions that could potentially affect children, including child-specific initiatives as well as all other actions which could indirectly impact upon child rights and child well-being.

The objective of mainstreaming child rights at the Identification Phase is to make children visible in policy and programme decision-making by systematically considering their right and interests before decisions are taken. Mainstreaming child rights at this stage is aimed at ensuring we do 'no harm' and that we give primary consideration to the best interests of children, with a particular focus on the most marginalised girls and boys.