A Future in Jeopardy.
The year is 1989…thirty years after the United Nation’s ‘Declaration of the Rights of the Child’ and ten years after the ‘International Year of the Child’. According to UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children, 1989:
- Every year, fifteen and a half million children are dying before the age of 5 (14 million children from common illness and malnutrition).
- Seven million, four hundred thousand children a year die from dehydration, even though oral rehydration therapy is available, easily administered by parents and can prevent these deaths.
- Vaccine preventable deaths kill over 1.5 million children a year in the Asian countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
- In rural areas of developing countries, 60% of children live without safe drinking water and 85% do not have adequate sanitation.
- 20% of the world’s babies are born weighing less than 2,500 grams.
- Only 39% of children in the most vulnerable countries complete primary school.
Along with these health statistics, children are also experiencing other horrific circumstances. It is estimated that 60 million children between the ages of 5-11 years and 250 million between the ages of 11-14 years participate in child labour. At least 60 million of these children are forced into debt bondage, slavery, prostitution, pornography or armed conflict. Asia, excluding Japan, has the highest number of economically active children (5–14 years of age) at 61 per cent, followed by Africa at 32 per cent, and 17 % in Latin America and the Caribbean (Beyond Child Labour-Affirming Rights, UNICEF, 2001).
The leaders of the world realized that the future was at a tipping point.
An International Law on Children’s Rights is Developed
On November 20th, 1989, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Currently, every country in the world (193 Nation States) has ratified the CRC (except for Somalia and the United States), making it the most universally ratified human rights treaty. It is also the most comprehensive international law ever developed, covering the social, economic, cultural, civil and political rights of children up to the age of 18. According to UNICEF, the CRC is composed of 54 articles and 2 optional protocols that are based on four core principles: non-discrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child. UNICEF’s summary of the CRC:
Article 1 (Definition of the child): The Convention defines a ‘child’ as a person below the age of 18, unless the laws of a particular country set the legal age for adulthood younger.
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Article 2 (Non-discrimination): The Convention applies to all children, whatever their race, religion or abilities; whatever they think or say, whatever type of family they come from. It doesn’t matter where children live, what language they speak, what their parents do, whether they are boys or girls, what their culture is, whether they have a disability or whether they are rich or poor. No child should be treated unfairly on any basis.
Article 3 (Best interests of the child): The best interests of children must be the primary concern in making decisions that may affect them. All adults should do what is best for children. When adults make decisions, they should think about how their decisions will affect children. This particularly applies to budget, policy and law makers.
Article 4 (Protection of rights): Governments have a responsibility to take all available measures to make sure children’s rights are respected, protected and fulfilled. When countries ratify the Convention, they agree to review their laws relating to children. This involves assessing their social services, legal, health and educational systems, as well as levels of funding for these services.
Article 5 (Parental guidance): Governments should respect the rights and responsibilities of families to direct and guide their children so that, as they grow, they learn to use their rights properly.
Article 6 (Survival and development): Children have the right to live. Governments should ensure that children survive and develop healthily.
Article 7 (Registration, name, nationality, care): All children have the right to a legally registered name, officially recognized by the government. Children have the right to a nationality (to belong to a country). Children also have the right to know and, as far as possible, to be cared for by their parents.
Article 8 (Preservation of identity): Children have the right to an identity – an official record of who they are. Governments should respect children’s right to a name, a nationality and family ties.
Article 9 (Separation from parents): Children have the right to live with their parent(s), unless it is bad for them. Children whose parents do not live together have the right to stay in contact with both parents, unless this might hurt the child.
Article 10 (Family reunification): Families whose members live in different countries should be allowed to move between those countries so that parents and children can stay in contact, or get back together as a family.
Article 11 (Kidnapping): Governments should take steps to stop children being taken out of their own country illegally.
Article 12 (Respect for the views of the child): When adults are making decisions that affect children, children have the right to say what they think should happen and have their opinions taken into account.
Article 13 (Freedom of expression): Children have the right to get and share information, as long as the information is not damaging to them or others. The freedom of expression includes the right to share information in any way they choose, including by talking, drawing or writing.
Article 14 (Freedom of thought, conscience and religion): Children have the right to think and believe what they want and to practice their religion, as long as they are not stopping other people from enjoying their rights.
Article 15 (Freedom of association): Children have the right to meet together and to join groups and organizations, as long as it does not stop other people from enjoying their rights. In exercising their rights, children have the responsibility to respect the rights, freedoms and reputations of others.
Article 16 (Right to privacy): Children have a right to privacy. The law should protect them from attacks against their way of life, their good name, their families and their homes.
Article 17 (Access to information; mass media): Children have the right to get information that is important to their health and well-being. Governments should encourage mass media – radio, television, newspapers and Internet content sources – to provide information that children can understand and to not promote materials that could harm children. Mass media should particularly be encouraged to supply information in languages that minority and indigenous children can understand. Children should also have access to children’s books.
Article 18 (Parental responsibilities; state assistance): Both parents share responsibility for bringing up their children, and should always consider what is best for each child. The Convention also places a responsibility on governments to provide support services to parents, especially if both parents work outside the home.
Article 19 (Protection from all forms of violence): Children have the right to be protected from being hurt and mistreated, physically or mentally. Governments should ensure that children are properly cared for and protect them from violence, abuse and neglect by their parents, or anyone else who looks after them.
Article 20 (Children deprived of family environment): Children who cannot be looked after by their own family have a right to special care and must be looked after properly, by people who respect their ethnic group, religion, culture and language.
Article 21 (Adoption): Children have the right to care and protection if they are adopted or in foster care. The first concern must be what is best for them.
Article 22 (Refugee children): Children have the right to special protection and help if they are refugees (if they have been forced to leave their home and live in another country), as well as all the rights in this Convention.
Article 23 (Children with disabilities): Children who have any kind of disability have the right to special care and support, as well as all the rights in the Convention, so that they can live full and independent lives.
Article 24 (Health and health services): Children have the right to good quality health care – the best health care possible – to safe drinking water, nutritious food, a clean and safe environment, and information to help them stay healthy. Rich countries should help poorer countries achieve this.
Article 25 (Review of treatment in care): Children who are looked after by their local authorities, rather than their parents, have the right to have these living arrangements looked at regularly to see if they are the most appropriate.
Article 26 (Social security): Children – either through their guardians or directly – have the right to help from the government if they are poor or in need.
Article 27 (Adequate standard of living): Children have the right to a standard of living that is good enough to meet their physical and mental needs. Governments should help families and guardians who cannot afford to provide this, particularly with regard to food, clothing and housing.
Article 28: (Right to education): All children have the right to a primary education, which should be free. Young people should be encouraged to reach the highest level of education of which they are capable.
Article 29 (Goals of education): Children’s education should develop each child’s personality, talents and abilities to the fullest. It should encourage children to respect others, human rights and their own and other cultures. It should also help them learn to live peacefully, protect the environment and respect other people.
Article 30 (Children of minorities/indigenous groups): Minority or indigenous children have the right to learn about and practice their own culture, language and religion.
Article 31 (Leisure, play and culture): Children have the right to relax and play, and to join in a wide range of cultural, artistic and other recreational activities.
Article 32 (Child labour): The government should protect children from work that is dangerous or might harm their health or their education. If children help out in a family farm or business, the tasks they do be safe and suited to their level of development and comply with national labour laws. Children’s work should not jeopardize any of their other rights, including the right to education, or the right to relaxation and play.
Article 33 (Drug abuse): Governments should use all means possible to protect children from the use of harmful drugs and from being used in the drug trade.
Article 34 (Sexual exploitation): Governments should protect children from all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse. This provision in the Convention is augmented by the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
Article 35 (Abduction, sale and trafficking): The government should take all measures possible to make sure that children are not abducted, sold or trafficked. This provision in the Convention is augmented by the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
Article 36 (Other forms of exploitation): Children should be protected from any activity that takes advantage of them or could harm their welfare and development.
Article 37 (Detention and punishment): No one is allowed to punish children in a cruel or harmful way. Children who break the law should not be treated cruelly. They should not be put in prison with adults, should be able to keep in contact with their families, and should not be sentenced to death or life imprisonment without possibility of release.
Article 38 (War and armed conflicts): Governments must do everything they can to protect and care for children affected by war. Children under 15 should not be forced or recruited to take part in a war or join the armed forces. The Convention’s Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict further develops this right, raising the age for direct participation in armed conflict to 18 and establishing a ban on compulsory recruitment for children under 18.
Article 39 (Rehabilitation of child victims): Children who have been neglected, abused or exploited should receive special help to physically and psychologically recover and reintegrate into society. Particular attention should be paid to restoring the health, self-respect and dignity of the child.
Article 40 (Juvenile justice): Children who are accused of breaking the law have the right to legal help and fair treatment in a justice system that respects their rights. Governments are required to set a minimum age below which children cannot be held criminally responsible and to provide minimum guarantees for the fairness and quick resolution of judicial or alternative proceedings.
Article 41 (Respect for superior national standards): If the laws of a country provide better protection of children’s rights than the articles in this Convention, those laws should apply.
Article 42 (Knowledge of rights): Governments should make the Convention known to adults and children. Adults should help children learn about their rights, too. (See also article 4.)
Articles 43-54 (implementation measures): These articles discuss how governments and international organizations like UNICEF should work to ensure children are protected in their rights.
How Nations have Addressed the CRC
The Human Rights Education Association describes how countries have addressed this international law. Countries that have ratified the CRC agreed to review their laws relating to children and adolescents and to assess their social services, legal, health and educational systems as well as funding commitments to ensure that the best efforts are being made to meet their obligations under the convention. Examples include:
– Developing comprehensive national agendas.
– Developing permanent bodies or mechanisms for promoting coordination of all sectors of government, monitoring and evaluation.
– Ensuring that all legislation is fully compatible with the CRC by incorporating it into domestic law or that its principles take precedence in cases of conflict with national legislation.
– Carrying out child impact assessments to ensure children are taking into account in planning and policy decisions.
– Analyzing government spending to determine the portion of public funds spent on children and to ensure that these resources are being used effectively.
– Carrying out data collection.
– Raising awareness and disseminated information about the CRC.
– Involving civil society including children in the process of implementing and raising awareness of child rights.
– Setting up independent statutory offices – ombudspersons, commissions or other institutions – to promote and protect children’s rights.
What has been the impact of the CRC after two decades?
The CRC put children’s rights in the forefront across the world. A Progress Report by UNICEF (2007) indicates the following improvements:
Health
- In 2006, the number of children dying before their fifth birthday was estimated at 9.7 million; down from 15.5 million in 1989.
- More than four times as many children received the recommended two doses of vitamin A in 2005 as in 1999.
- All countries with trend data in sub-Saharan Africa made progress in expanding coverage of insecticide-treated nets, a fundamental tool in halting malaria, with 16 of these 20 countries at least tripling coverage since 2000.
- In the 47 countries where 95 per cent of measles deaths occur, measles immunization coverage increased from 57 per cent in 1990 to 68 per cent in 2006.
- Rates of exclusive breastfeeding of infants have significantly improved in 16 countries of sub-Saharan Africa over the past decade, with 7 of these countries making gains of 20 percentage points or more.
- Between 1990 and 2004, more than 1.2 billion people gained access to improved sources of drinking water and sanitation coverage also increased during this same time period.
Education
- Almost all regions have made significant progress in education. The gender gap at both primary and secondary levels began closing between 1990 and 2005. Increases in enrolment and attendance reduced the number of primary-school-age children who are out of school from 115 million in 2002 to 93 million in 2005–2006. Many countries are close to providing universal primary education, although some regions – the Middle East/North Africa, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa – have net enrolment/attendance ratios of less than 90 per cent. Progress has also been made in secondary education, although less than in primary education. In sub-Saharan Africa, only one out of four children of secondary school age attends secondary school; throughout the world, one out of six children of secondary school age is still in primary school.
Protecting against abuse, exploitation and violence
- Many child protection issues are now part of the measurement obtained through Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS). About 51 million children born in 2006 have not had their births registered; yet, important improvements in birth registration rates have occurred in such countries as Cambodia, the Gambia and Viet Nam. The prevalence of female genital mutilation/cutting has declined slowly but steadily during the past 15 years, and older girls and younger women are less likely to have undergone any form of this harmful traditional practice than older women. Child marriage is becoming less common in some countries, but the pace of change is often slow. UNICEF estimates that 158 million children between ages 5 and 14 are engaged in child labour. The challenge is in making use of household survey results to improve the lives of children affected by exclusion, abuse, exploitation and violence.
What is next?
Doek (2009) is his review of the CRC for the past 20 years indicates that children still need the world’s attention. He indicates that more than 9 million children died in 2008 of preventable diseases; more than 90 million children never go to school; more than 100 million children are involved in the worst forms of child labor; and many millions of children are victims of violence or abuse. His recommendation is a focus on poverty.
“Chronic poverty remains the single biggest obstacle to meeting the needs, protecting and promoting the rights of children. It must be tackled on all fronts, from the provisions of basic social services to the creation of employment opportunities, from the availability of microcredit to investment in infrastructure, and from debt relief to fair trade practices. Children are hardest hit by poverty because it strikes at the very roots of their potential to development—their growing bodies and minds.” A World Fit for Children (United Nations, May 2002, para. 18).
Reference: Doek, J. (2009). The CRC 20 years: An overview of some of the major achievements and remaining challenges. Child Abuse & Neglect, 33(11), 771-782.
New goals have been developed by the UN, entitled the Millennium Development Goals. One of these goals is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by reducing by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day and of those who suffer from hunger by 2015. For more information on the other initiatives, see www.un.org/millenniumgoals/.
Resources
(Courtesy of Human Rights Education Association)
Children’s Rights Here and Now (Amnesty International-USA). This lesson plan can be used to examine the situation regarding children’s rights, using the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Fields of Hope: Educational Activities on Child Labor. Teacher’s Guide (American Center for International Labor Solidarity, AFL-CIO). This guide includes eight lessons intended for ages 12-15 (grade levels 6-8). The lessons are intended to enhance students’ knowledge and understanding of child labor issues internationally, to develop skills in organising and using the information contained in the Fields of Hope web site and other sites devoted to child labor, and to foster attitudes of social responsibility.
Lesson plan on refugee children (UNHCR). Lesson and Unit plan for teachers on refugees developed by UNHCR for ages 9-11 for civics.
Raising Children With Roots, Rights & Responsibilities: Celebrating the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (by Lori DuPont, Joanne Foley, Annette Gagliardi).
This guide for a 12-week human rights curriculum builds on the power of the parent-child relationship. Themes of the sessions are: sharing a vision; whole child; equality; name and nationality; adequate standard of living; special protections; consideration and care; free education; play and culture; protection; expression and association; ratification and review.
Teaching for Human Rights: Pre-school and Grades 1-4 (Ralph Pettman, with Joan Braham, Lynette Johnston, Elke Muzik, Kath Lock, Stephanie O’Laughlin Peters, Diana Smythe).
This teacher manual provides specific suggestions, proven in practice, of what to do and why, for pre-school and lower primary teachers who want to foster children’s feelings of self-esteem and social tolerance.
Teaching for Human Rights: Grades 5-10 (Ralph Pettman, with Colin Henry). This teacher manual provides specific suggestions, proven in practice, of what to do and why, upper primary and secondary teachers who want to foster children’s feelings of self-esteem and social tolerance.
Ten messages about children with disabilities (UNICEF). Practical tips for to help children with disabilities learn in a safe and equitable environment.
Our Book of Child Rights (Human Rights Education Programme-Pakistan). This colourful picture book is based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child and is intended to be used by students and teachers as an introduction to children’s rights and responsibilities.
A Future in Jeopardy.