The United Nations General Assembly on Nov. 20, 1959 adopted a Declaration of the Rights of the Child, a non-binding resolution with 10 principles.
Thirty years later, the UN General Assembly on Nov. 20. 1989 adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) for signature. It became the first legally binding international convention to affirm human rights for all children, set out in 54 articles.
In 2000, the UN General Assembly adopted two Optional Protocols to the Convention -- Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict and Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.
The 54 provisions of the Convention and its Optional Protocols, articulate the full complement of civil, political, cultural, social and economic rights for all children.
The Convention spells out the basic human rights that children everywhere have: the right to survival; to develop to the fullest; to be protected from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life.
The four core principles of the CRC are non-discrimination; the best interest of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child.
The Convention protects children's rights by setting standards in health care; education; and legal, civil and social services.
On Sept. 2, 1990, the Convention entered into force after it was ratified by the required number of nations (20).
It has achieved near-universal acceptance, having now been ratified by 193 countries, according to UNICEF.
By July 2009, the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict and the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography had been ratified by 128 and 132 countries, respectively. |
