The Rights of a Child

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989

Every human on the planet has rights. But many people don't realise that children have special rights as defined by the UN's convention on the rights of a child. The UN defines a child to be any persons 18 years or younger. When I was at the model UN I chose to go to UNICEF for my ouotreach program (A program designed to give back to the community). At UNICEF I learnt a lot about the rights of a child and why they are important. There are 54 rights of a child however only the first 42 (Coincidence? I think not.) are directly related to the child. the last 12 are governmental responsibilities to do with reporting to the UN how children's rights are being ratified.

Here is a summary of the main children's rights (in no particular order):

1. Children have the right to protection from work that threatens their health, education or development
2. Children have the right to appropriate information
3. Children have the right to express themselves
4. Children have the right to protection in times of war
5. Children have the right to protection from trafficking and abduction
6. Children have the right to know and live their own culture
7. Children have the right to protection from neglect
8. Children have the right to play
9. Children have the right to protection from landmines
10. Children have the right to protection from sexual abuse
11. Children have the right to express themselves
12. Children have the right to survive and develop to the fullest
13. Children have the right to a home
14. Children have the right to privacy
15. Children have the right to a loving and caring family
16. Children have the right to express their opinions
17. Children have the right to meet and share views with others
18. Children have the right to a drug free world
19. Children have the right to protection from guns
20. Children have the right to freedom of thought
21. Refugee children have the right to protection
22. Children have the right to a healthy environment
23. Children have the right to enjoy their own culture
24. Every child has the right to a family
25. Every child has the right to education
26. Children in conflict with the law have the right to be treated with dignity
27. Every child has the right to a name and nationality
28. Every child has the right to freedom of conscience
29. Every child has the right to food and nutrition
30. Children have the right to attention from both parents
31. Children have the right not to be exploited
32. Children have the right to adequate health services
33. Children have the right to develop to their full potential
The list goes on.....

I hope you took the time to read through some of the most fundermental human rights. Many children at the age of 18 or under take all or the majority of these rights for granted. However children, specifically in third world countries are denied these rights every day. It is difficult to do anything about it from our level as in these situations change often needs to happen on a governmental or international scale, however you can do your bit. By getting involved in and organisation such as UNICEF or the newly founded p3 foundation you can help change children's lives. Even by raising awareness about children's right you are forcing your peers to stop and think about their actions and what they take for granted and how they can better our global community, even by sponsoring a child though UNICEF or World Vision you are helping a real person and their community. If you have limited funds, giving a small donation to one of the mentioned organisations or raising awareness is still helping to create a better tomorrow.

I strongly urge you to look into child's rights more and to try helping to make a difference.

UNICEF:
http://www.unicef.org.nz/
World Vision:
http://www.worldvision.org.nz/
p3 Foundation:
http://www.p3f.org/
UN Convention on the Rights Of a Child (1989):
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/pdf/crc.pdf