An introduction to children's rights provides a background of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and organizations which advocate the development of children.

Children's rights, in addition to human rights, recognise that childhood is an important part of life, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child highlights the special needs of child protection, education, nutrition and development.

Children must have access to recreation and rest and be protected from abuse, harm or exploitation.

Every child should have the right to voice their thoughts and opinions and children’s rights acknowledges this need.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child

In 1989, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The CRC is a universally agreed set of non-negotiable standards and obligations relating to human rights, especially for children.

Some of the highlights of the Convention include:

• A child’s right to life;
• Decisions that affect children should be based on their best interests;
• Protection for children from physical or mental harm and neglect;
• A child’s right to the highest attainable standard of health;
• Free and compulsory education for all children;
• Children shall have time to rest and play and equal opportunities for cultural and artistic activities;
• Protection for children from economic exploitation;
• All efforts shall be made to eliminate the abduction and trafficking of children;
• No child under 15 shall take any part in hostilities or conflict; and
• Children of minority and indigenous populations shall freely enjoy their own culture, religion and language.

Important Areas of Children’s Rights

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) upholds the CRC and addresses the needs of children around the world. UNICEF works with communities and families in improving the lives of all children.

According to UNICEF, children’s rights are intimately tied to those of women. The rights and equality of women, in addition to being a core development goal itself, is the key to the survival and development of children.

Key Data From UNICEF

UNICEF works in 191 countries worldwide and has compiled extensive data on specific areas of concern for children’s rights.

Child Survival and Development – more than 10 million children under the age of five die each year.

Child Protection – an estimated 300 million children worldwide are subjected to violence, exploitation and abuse.

Education – in 2006, an estimated 93 million children of primary school age were not attending school. Out of these, 48.5 million were girls.

HIV/AIDS – in 2006, approximately 2.3 million children under 15 were living with HIV.

Malaria – one million people die from malaria every year. African children below the age of five account for 75 per cent of those who die. Malaria accounts for one in five of all childhood deaths in Africa.

Nutrition – in 2004, 5.6 million deaths of children under five were related to under-nutrition. This accounts for 53 per cent of the total under five mortality.

Water and sanitation – almost 453 million children under the age of 18 lack access to an improved water supply and over 980 million lack access to improved sanitation.

These worrying figures are why many organizations campaign for children’s rights in particular.

Advocating Children’s Rights

Children's rights are important worldwide. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child serves as a universal declaration that children do have rights and their specific needs should be catered for.

Readers interested in finding out more about children's rights, and the organizations advocating on behalf of children, can visit the websites listed below.

The Global Movement for Children is a worldwide movement of organizations and individuals dedicated to improving the life of every child.

Child Wise is a child protection charity organization working in Australia, Asia and the Pacific to prevent child abuse and exploitation.