LESSON 24Topic:The Rights of the Ch

LESSON 24
Topic:
The Rights of the Child.
Text:
The Convention on the Rights of theChild.
T e x t
The Convention on the Rights of the Child
The human rights of children and the standards to which all govern­ ments must aspire in realizing these rights for all children, are formulat­ ed in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention is the most universally accepted human rights instrument in history — it has been ratified by every country in the world except two. By ratifying this instrument, national governments have committed themselves to pro­ tecting and ensuring children's rights.
Built on varied legal systems and cultural traditions, the Convention on the Rights of the Child is a universally agreed set of non-negotiablestand­ ards and obligations. It spells out the basic human rights that children everywhere — without discrimination — have: the right to survival; to develop to the fullest; to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation, and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life.
Every right spelled out in the Convention is inherent to the human dignity and harmonious development of every child. The Convention
protects children’s rights by
setting standards in health care, education
and legal, civil and social
services. These standards are benchmarks
against which progress can be assessed. States that are party to the
Convention are obliged to develop and undertake
all actions
and poli­
cies in the light of the best interests of the child.





The Convention on the Rights of the
Child
was
carefully
drafted
over the course of 10 years (1979-1989)with the
input of
representa­
tives from
all societies, all religions and
all
cultures.
The
Convention
has become the most widely accepted human rights treaty ever.


Some
people assume that the rights
of
children
born
in
wealthy
nations — where schools, hospitals and juvenile justice systems are in place — are never violated, that these children have no need for the protection and care called for in the Convention. But that is far from the truth. To varying degrees, at least some children in all nations face unemployment, homelessness, violence, poverty and other issues that dramatically affect their lives.
All of us are born with human rights — a principle the Convention on the Rights of the Child makes very clear. They belong to each and every one of us equally. Children living in developing countries have the same rights as children in wealthy countries. The Convention places equal emphasis on all of the rights for children.
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Because of its near-universalacceptance by the community of na­ tions, the Convention on the Rights of the Child has brought into sharp focus for the first time the fundamental human dignity of all children and the urgency of ensuring theirwell-beingand development. The
Convention on the
Rights of the Child specifically refers to the family
as
the fundamental
group
of
society and the natural environment
for
the growth and well-beingof its members, particularly children.


Under the Convention,
States are obliged to
respect parents’ prima­
ry
responsibility for
providing
care and guidance
for their children
and
to support parents in this regard, providing material assistance and sup­ port programmes. States are also obliged to prevent children from being separated from their families unless the separation is judged necessary for the child’s best interests.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child confirms that children have a right to express their views and to have their views taken seriously and given due weight — but it does not state that children’s views are the only ones to be considered. The Convention also states that children have a responsibility to respect the rights of others, especially those of parents.
The principle of non-discriminationis included in all the basic hu­ man rights instruments and has been carefully defined by the bodies responsible for monitoring their implementation.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989. It entered into force 2 September 1990, in accordance with article 49.