United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

Convention
Preamble

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

The preamble: recalls the basic principles of the United Nations and specific prevision to certain relevant human rights treaties and proclamations; reaffirms the fact that children, because of their vulnerability, need special care and protection; and places special emphasis on the primary caring and protective responsibility of the family, the need for legal and other protection of the child's before and after birth, the importance of respect for the culture values of the child's community, and the vital of international cooperation in achieving the realization of children's rights.

Article

Definition of a child
All persons under 18, unless by law majority is attained at an earlier age.
Non-discrimination
The principle that all rights apply to all children without exception, and the State's obligation to protect children from any form of discrimination. The State must not violate any right, and must take positive action to promote them all.
Best interest of the child
All actions concerning the child should take full account of his or her best interests. The state is to provide adequate care when parents or others responsible fail to do so.
Implementation of rights
The State's obligation to translate the rights in the Convention into reality.
Parental guidance and the child's evolving capacities
The State's duty to respect the rights and responsibility of parents and the wider family to provide guidance appropriate to the child's evolving capacities.
Survival and development
The inherent right to life, and the State's obligation to ensure the child's survival and development.
Name and nationality
The right to have a name from birth and to be granted a nationality.
Preservation of identity
The State's obligation to protect and, if necessary, re-establish the basic aspects of a child's identity (name, nationally and family ties).
Separation from parents
The child's right to live with his/ her parents unless this is deemed incompatible with his/ her best interests; the right to maintain contact with both parents if separated from one or both; the duties of States in cases where such separation results from State action.
Family reunification
The right of children and their parents to leave any country and to enter their own in order to be reunited or to maintain the child-parent relationship.
Illicit transfer and non-return
The State's obligation to try to prevent and remedy the kidnapping or retention of children abroad by a parent or third party.
The child's opinion
The child's right to express an opinion, and have that opinion taken into account, in any matter or procedure affecting the child.
Freedom of expression
The child's right to obtain and make known information, and to express his or her views, unless this would violate the rights of others.
Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
The child's right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, subject to appropriate parental guidance and national law.
Freedom of association
The right of children to meet with others and to join or set up associations, unless the fact of doing so violates the rights of others.
Protection of privacy
The right to protection from interference with privacy, family, home and correspondence and from libel/ slander.
Access to appropriate information
The role of the media in disseminating information to children that is consistent with moral well-being and knowledge and understanding among peoples, and respects the child's cultural background. The State is to take measures to encourage this and to protect children from harmful materials.
Parental responsibilities
The principle that both parents have joint primary responsibility for bringing up their children, and that the State should support them in this task.
Protection from abuse and neglect
The State's obligation to protect children from all forms of maltreatment perpetrated by parents or others responsible for their care, and to undertake preventive and treatment programs in this regard.
Protection of children without families
The State's obligation to provide special protection for children deprived of their family environment and to ensure that appropriate alternative family care or institutional placement is made available to them, taking into account the child's cultural background.
Adoption
In countries where adoption is recognized and/or allowed, it shall only be carried out in the best interests of the child, with all necessary safeguards for a given child and authorization by the competent authorities.
Refugee children
Special protection to be granted to children who are refugees or seeking refugee status, and the State's obligation to cooperate with competent organizations providing such protection and assistance.
Handicapped children
The right of handicapped children to special care, education and training designed to help them to achieve greatest possible self-reliance and to lead a full and active life in society.
Health and health services
The right to the highest level of health possible and to access to health and medical services, with special emphasis on primary and preventive health care, public health education and the diminution of infant mortality. The State's obligation to work towards the abolition of harmful traditional practices. Emphasis is laid on the need for international cooperation to ensure this right.
Periodic review of placement
The right of children placed by the State for reasons of care, protection or treatment to have all aspects of that placement evaluated regularly.
Social security
The right of children to benefit from social security.
Standard of living
The right of children to benefit from am adequate standard of living, the primary responsibility of parents to provide this, and the State's duty to ensure that this responsibility is first fulfillable and then fulfilled, where necessary through the recovery of maintenance.
Education
The child's right to education, and the State's duty to ensure that primary education at least is made free and compulsory. Administration of school discipline is to reflect the child's human dignity. Emphasis is laid on the need for international cooperation to ensure this right.
Aims of education
The State's recognition that education should be directed at developing the child's personality and talents, preparing the child for active life as an adult, fostering respect for basic human rights and developing respect for the child's own and national values and those of others.
Children of minorities or indigenous peoples
The right of children of minority communities and indigenous peoples to enjoy their own culture and to practice their own religion and language.
Leisure, recreation and cultural activities
The right of children to leisure, play and participation in cultural and artistic activities.
Child labor
The State's obligation to protect children from engaging in work that constitutes a threat to their health, education or development, to set minimum ages for employment, and to regulate conditions of employment.
Drug Abuse
The child's right to protection from the use of narcotic and psychotropic drugs and from being involved in their production of distribution.
Sexual exploitation
The child's right to protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, including prostitution and involvement in pornography.
Sale, trafficking and abduction
The State's obligation to make every effort to prevent the sale, trafficking and abduction of children.
Other forms of exploitation
The child's right to protection from all other forms of exploitation not covered in articles 32, 33, 34 and 35.
Torture and deprivation of liberty
The prohibition of torture, cruel treatment or punishment, capital punishment, life imprisonment, and unlawful arrest or deprivation of liberty. The principles of appropriate treatment, separation from detained adults, contact with family and access to legal and other assistance.
Armed conflicts
The obligation of States to respect and ensure respect for humanitarian law as it applies to children. The principle that no child under 15 takes a direct part in hostilities or be recruited into the armed forces, and that all children affected by armed conflict benefit from protection and care.
Rehabilitative care
The State's obligation to ensure that child victims of armed conflict, torture, neglect, maltreatment or exploitation receive appropriate treatment for their recovery and social reintegration.
Administration of juvenile justice
The right of children alleged or recognized as having committed an offence to respect for their human rights and, in particular, to benefit from all aspects of the due process of law, including legal or other assistance in preparing and presenting their defense. The principle that recourse to judicial proceedings and institutional placements should be avoided wherever possible and appropriate.
Respect for existing standards
The principle that, if any standards set in national law or other applicable international instruments are higher than those of this Convention, it is higher standard that applies. Implementation and entry into force.

The provisions of articles 42-54 notably foresee:

the State's obligation to make the rights contained in this Convention widely known to both adults and children.
the setting up of a Committee on the Rights of the child composed of ten experts, which will consider reports that States Parties to the Convention are to submit two years after ratification and every live years thereafter. The Convention enters into force - and the Committee would therefore be set up - once 20 countries have ratified it.
States Parties are to make their reports widely available to the general public.
The Committee may propose that special studies be undertaken on specific issues relating to the rights of the child, and may make its evaluations known to each State Party concerned as well as to the UN General Assembly.
In order to "foster the effect implementation of the Convention and to encourage international cooperation", the specialized agencies of the UN (such as the ILO, WHO and UNESCO) and UNICEF would be able to attend the meetings of the Committee. Together with any other body recognized as "competent", including NGOs in consultative status with the UN and UN organs such as the UNHCR, they can submit pertinent information to the Committee and be asked to advise on the optimal implementation of the Convention.

Ratification

When a Government ratifies the CRC, it is agreeing :

to be bound by international law to the achievement of certain basic standards for children.
to provide a legal framework in which to achieve those standards. This means passing 'enabling' legislation so that the laws of the country reflect the spirit of the CRC.
to set specific time-bound objectives for the implementation of children's rights taking into account what is feasible.

For more details about the Convention on the Rights of the Child, you are encouraged to visit the websites of International Save the Children Alliance and Unicef.

Convention