UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

The UN Convention on the Rights of the child is an international treaty that sets out universally accepted rights for children. It is a benchmark against which a nation’s treatment of its children can be measured. It brings together in one comprehensive code the benefits and protection for children hitherto scattered in a variety of other agreements, including the Declaration of the Rights of the Child adopted in 1959.

The Convention was officially approved by the United Nations in 1989 and has been ratified by almost every country in the world. Ratification of the Convention is a commitment by “States Parties” to comply with the articles of the Convention and thereby to protect and enhance the basic rights of children through their policies, programs and services.

This remarkably comprehensive treaty not only incorporates current thinking with regard to children’s rights but also demands that the world think more deeply about children’s position as citizens and more broadly about their development than has commonly been the case. It asks that we look holistically at children’s lives and hear their own perspectives on issues affecting them.

As a result it is leading many nations to address elements of children’s lives that have hitherto been ignored but that represent our fundamental humanity. One of these – at the heart of children’s lives everywhere – is the right to play.

Full text of the Convention (click)

Tags: Rights of the Child, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, United Nations