Child Helpline International (CHI) is a global network of telephone helpline

Helpline

A helpline was originally a telephone service which offers help to those who call. Many helpline services now offer more than telephone support - offering access to information, advice or customer service via telephone, email, web or SMS....

s and outreach services for children and young people. Working in over 150 countries, CHI was founded on the belief that children and young people have rights, and that they alone are the best individuals to identify their problems. As an organisation devoted to securing children's rights, CHI is committed to maintaining the spirit of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

Convention on the Rights of the Child

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a human rights treaty setting out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children...

 (CRC).

Launch

To strengthen and develop helplines for children and young people, Child Helpline International (CHI) was launched in October 2003 in Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

. It was inaugurated by the Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

Committee on the Rights of the Child

The Committee on the Rights of the Child is a body of independent experts that monitors and reports on implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child by governments that ratify the Convention...

.