Overview of Children's Rights
Contributors from OHS's UNICEF Club describe children's rights in the article below!
A right is a moral and/or legal entitlement to obtain something or to act in a certain way. Human rights, in general, are the inalienable rights belonging to all human beings regardless of ethnicity, gender, age, religion, or any other status. Every one of the 7 billion humans on this planet reserve these rights. No government or organization or people can deny other humans these rights as they are inherited from simply being human.
Along with these rights inherited by all humans, the responsibility to respect the rights of other humans also goes hand in hand. Human rights are EQUAL and NONDISCRIMINATORY. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the UN on December 10, 1948, and outlines fundamental human rights that must be upheld universally.
And, in addition to these human rights, there are rights held specifically by children, for children require further protection than adults and have different needs. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) outlines these children’s rights based on the following founding principles: All children, regardless of their situation or ethnicity or religion have the right to develop to their full potential. All decisions involving a child MUST be made in their best interest. Additionally, children have the right to survival, development, and having their voice be heard.
The CRC is important because it transformed the way in which children are viewed, now being seen as human beings with rights of their own rather than as passive objects for which others care and act on their behalf. The acceptance of the CRC goes farther than forwarding that which is directly stated above. More importantly, it shines a global spotlight on the rights of children and works toward improving the societal treatment of children.
To better understand children’s rights, let us first explore the general topic of rights themselves. Rights are “entitlements (not) to perform certain actions, or (not) to be in certain states; or entitlements that others (not) perform certain actions or (not) be in certain states” (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Rights). Human rights pertain to the rights humans undeniably have, regardless of ethnicity, age, gender, religion, and other discerning features.
As mentioned above, human rights are automatically inherited by everyone on this earth just by being human. It is our duty, therefore, to uphold all the equal and non-discriminatory ideals of basic human rights. And, like general human rights, children’s rights, in particular, need to be respected and upheld. But how are they different? Children’s rights may include the same privileges as the general adult, like the right to life and the right to health. However, there are many other important needs of a child, not shared with all humans, that must be met.
Children and adults are both humans, but they are not the same by any means. For one, children definitely do not require many of the rights that adults have, like the right to vote, drink or run for office. Children have not fully developed or matured, and need special guidance as they will eventually grow into adults part of this world’s society. As such, if we do not make children’s rights a specific focus, those important needs might be overlooked.
UNICEF and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) have established some “foundational principles” of children’s rights. These are:
- Non-discrimination → a child’s ability to develop and foster his or her potential in any circumstance without any partiality to his or her situation, gender, race, etc.
- Best interest → taking into consideration, first and foremost, the effect that a decision or action will have on the child, and making sure that it is beneficial for, or not harmful to, him or her
- Right to survival and development → access to basic necessities and services like food, shelter, hygiene etc. and equality in all areas of development
- Views of the child → hearing the child’s voice and respecting him or her as well as promoting “active, free and meaningful participation in decision-making that affects them” (UNICEF)
In addition to these foundational principles, emphasis needs to be placed on children being “natural persons” just as much as adults, and keeping these basic rights in mind can help. Nevertheless, children’s rights is a very hard topic to define. Often times there is criticism and a clashing of opinions over issues related to children’s rights, such as whether or not the government or other authority has really acted in the best interest of a child.
These issues arise because there is so much gray in the area of children, who are humans but yet need more oversight than the general adult. They must be respected and heard, yet they are not fully capable of understanding and making decisions in every circumstance around them. With so much possibility for confusion, then, it is crucial that children’s rights become a focus of all countries so that we might better understand and implement the foundational principles that every child deserves.
After learning more about the importance of children’s rights, you are now able to inspire others by spreading the message. Being aware of an issue and becoming informed about it are the first steps to making a difference. Now, the next steps!
Every drop can make one big wave of change! Organizations like UNICEF and human rights treaties like the CRC are highly impactful and widely supported by people from all over the world. However, there is more that can be done for children in need; we must not stop fighting for their rights. We must continue to fight and support the health of future generations by ensuring a sustainable system of care for minors.
To do this, we need YOU to pass on information about why others should take action too. You can do this by advocating for children’s rights both verbally and through social media. Check out UNICEF’s social media pages and find ways to share their hashtag with your followers to let them know you care! Personally, you can also donate directly to organizations like the CRC and UNICEF where “88.74% of every dollar spent goes directly to help children” (UNICEF).
With the holiday season approaching, you can designate a certain donation as a gift on behalf of a family member. If you want to involve even more people, consider orchestrating fundraisers and events at a local school or business to attract like-minded people from the surrounding area! You can even unite the people around you with a central purpose and worthy cause by having large awareness activities like auctions and sporting events for UNICEF.
Furthermore, in honor of World Children’s Day, you can write a letter to the U.S. Congress pleading them to fully support UNICEF with funds in order to amplify their impact on those in need. All you need to do is enter basic information about yourself and hit send! Pass along this link to friends to make an even bigger difference: https://www.unicefusa.org/help/advocate/maintain-us-government-contribution-unicef
Resources:
https://www.unicef.org/why/why_rights.html
https://www.unicef.org/why/index_4676.html
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/UDHRIndex.aspx
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rights/
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/childrens-rights/#hottest
https://www.unicefusa.org/help/advocate
https://www.unicefusa.org/help/advocate/maintain-us-government-contribution-unicef
UNICEF Club Contributors: Madison Toonder, Aria Norcross, Nicole Wu, Kaily Phan
Join the OHS Unicef Team to learn more about these important issues, and to educate and advocate on Unicef’s behalf by working on all kinds of different projects. We hope to see you there! Contact Aino Alkio (skype: anskua00 or email: aino.alkio@hotmail.com) if you’d like to join us.