As part of its country programmes, UNICEF assists governments to produce and update a report on development trends within each country that describes how these trends affect the well-being of children, youth and women. These reports help to direct UNICEF’s programmes and they also provide a useful reference for national bodies, the public and other development partners. This report presents an overview of the situation of children and women in the Cook Islands at the start of the 21st century. It was drafted with help from many people in the Cook Islands, and also draws upon published and unpublished information and reports. In 1997, the Cook Island Government ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). UNICEF is assisting countries to implement this convention and to monitor their progress. Within two years of ratification, each government must report their progress to an international review panel in Geneva. The Cook Island report is now in draft. Progress on implementing the CRC is therefore an important backdrop to this report but will be discussed more fully in the national CRC Implementation Report.