A children's rights perspective illuminates and informs child witness research, sometimes in unexpected ways. In this commentary, I outline what a children's rights perspective can contribute to the study of child witnesses, and tackle the question of how to define what children's rights are. A discussion of each of the articles in this remarkable special issue highlights research findings and challenges, the applications of children's rights, and future directions for the field.Keywords Children's rights . Child witnesses . Developmentalist perspective . Right to be heard . Justice . Protection from harm . Nondiscrimination This interesting and thought-provoking collection of research reports profiles the current state of child witness research and offers guidance for its future directions. As one who has followed this field for several decades, I was impressed with how far researchers have progressed in contending with basic but complex questions concerning children's memory and testimony, their experiences in the child protection and family court systems, and their perception by professionals within those systems. These articles deepen understanding and raise new questions of practical importance, and in doing so help to explain why this field of research continues to expand after so many years.The theme of this special issue is Child Witness Research in a Rights-Conscious Era. That is also the focus of this commentary, as I hope to situate research on child witnesses, and the contributions of these papers, within the broader perspective of children's rights and its implications for how we think about the applications of this work.