Tuesday, November 24, 2009
20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
Many events have been planned to mark the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the rights of the child and perhaps in contrast to the launch 20 years ago, children's views and ideas are now centre stage.
November 20th 2009 was the 2oth anniversary of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child. The convention was designed to define the basic rights which any child, anywhere in the world is entitled to. There are 54 different Articles which describe the specific rights but the four key rights are defined as: “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 .”These include the right to:
• a family life;
• be protected from violence;
• have a say and be respected;
• be healthy; and
• have an education.
Countries and states signing the convention “ are obliged to develop and undertake all actions and policies in the light of the best interests of the child.” In the 20 years since the United nations convention on the rights of the child was established in 1989, it has been signed by, 193 countries including every member of the United Nations except the United States and Somalia. The UK signed in 1991. The Committee on the Rights of the Child, based in Switzerland, monitors the progress of the Convention - receiving reports from individual countries and recommending how each country could further improve the lives of children.
Part of the success of the convention is making children, parents, teachers and schools aware of the rights their country and others around the world have signed up to in order to ensure that they are promoted and respected. Article 42 of the convention places a duty on governments – and adults too – to teach children about their rights.
The full text of the Convention, plus frequently asked questions, commentary and sections on what teachers, parents, individuals, children and organizations can do, can be found on the UNICEF website. There is also a dedicated youth site for the Convention on the Rights of the child.
The voices of children and young people are becoming a key part of promoting understanding of the rights countries have signed up to. A series of 54 videos, one for each of the Articles of the convention have been produced for the 20th anniversary of the convention. All of the 54 videos have been made by children, from all over the world and can be viewed on the website.
Alongside these a series of one minute videos made by children and young people between the ages of 12-20 from around the world inspired by learning about the rights of the child in the convention.
The website 'I have a Voice' has been designed to mark the 20th anniversary of the convention of the rights of the child by gathering the views and opinions of children across the EU about their priorities for the future and then sharing these with European Policymakers and Politicians over the year. To take part , children go tothe website, leave their Voice in a bubble saying what they feel EU politicians should do to ensure children's rights are promoted, protected and fulfilled. Their bubble then appears on a world map and politicians visit the map and click on their area to hear the views of the children in their country.
The UK government announced on the 20th anniversary that England, Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland would come together to highlight their commitment to delivering progress on children’s rights and implementing the UNCRC across the United Kingdom.
A plan for England was published by the DCSF to show how policy decisions will continue to be underpinned by the UNCRC. Increasing both opportunities for children and young people to have their views and opinions heard and the weight those opinions have in policy and practice is at the centre of the plan.. “The UNCRC has paved the way for children and young people’s voices to be heard by the Government and the professionals working with them and for them. we regularly discuss our policies with children and young people. Their input is vital as we look to improve the services affecting them .” (DCSF Delyth Morgan )
The children’s rights alliance for England have sent out a pack to every school in England and have many other resources on their website.
Schools in the UK can now support the UNCRC as part of their policies and everyday practice by taking part in the Rights Respecting Schools Award run by the UK UNICEF committee. Any school in the UK can apply to be designated a Rights Respecting School by showing how they have met the rights in the convention in their school community. Schools are challenged to demonstrate that they have established a set of rights which underpin all that happens within the school and which are actively understood by children. Schools applying for the award are supported through the process of being able to "define a clear set of values – not just rules - that has been developed with the full involvement of the school community and is actively upheld by pupils."
To find out more about Rights Respecting Schools visit the awards site of you can find a full list of the Rights of the child here.