Overview of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

What is the Convention on the Rights of the Child? Read the OHS UNICEF club's article below to find out!

To combat violence against children, the United Nations initiated a human rights treaty, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The CRC outlines the human rights of children under the age of 18 in political, economic, and social aspects, to ensure their safety from various negative influences posed by socioeconomic status, racial oppression, and/or physical and mental disabilities.  The CRC was unanimously adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989 and enacted roughly a year later in September of 1990. Today, there are 196 parties to the CRC, including every member of the United Nations, except the United States. For more information on why the US won’t ratify the CRC, view the UNICEF club’s article. In the last 20+ years, the CRC has transformed safety and security for millions of children throughout the world, and lead the expansion of programs providing care for these future generations.

The CRC explains that all children have rights and needs. These are very similar, but are still different. A need is not legally binding. Needs include, but are not limited to, food, shelter, healthcare, and clean water. If a need becomes recognised as a right, parents, the government, or other duty bearers must provide a means to that resource. A right is legally binding, and, as mentioned before, must be provided by a duty bearer. The CRC has four principles that it must protect. The first is the child’s right to survival. This principle entails that every child has a right to life and the requirements of existing. This also protects the child’s right to healthcare, nutrition, shelter, and an adequate standard of living. The second principle protects the right of development. A child has certain activities it should participate in in order to develop into an adult. This principle protects the right to sports, leisure activities, education, freedom of thought, play, culture, and access to information, providing it doesn’t harm the child or anyone else. The third of these principles is the right to protection. Under this principle, the child has a right to identity that is to be protected from exploitation, abuse, and neglect. Children who have been subject to violence have the right to be cared for. Refugee children have the right to special status. Working children have the right to be safeguarded. The final principle of the CRC is the right to participation. All children should be able to play an important role in society, and have a way to express themselves. Every child must have equal access to these rights. Over the course 42 articles, and 2 optional protocols, these principles are upheld. UNICEF proposes that governments across the world take certain steps to maintain the CRC. The first step that the CRC asks, is that nations respect the entire CRC, and abide by all articles. Only two members of the United Nations have failed to respect the CRC, The United States of America and Somalia. Then the CRC asks that  governments always have children in mind when passing any legislation. The CRC also demands that the child’s best interests are acted upon in issues concerning the child or the child’s family. The CRC believes that the family is an important societal structure. The child should always have access to the family unless it is not in the child’s best interests.

The CRC ensures that all children under the age of eighteen, regardless of race, religion, or any other circumstances, receive universal rights that cannot be taken away or violated. The vision of the CRC is to mitigate the discrimination and suffering that face children from all backgrounds. Children are equally deserving of the protections and freedoms that adults are guaranteed. Since they are gullible and inexperienced, children require care, nurturing, and love in order to survive. Children are the future of the planet. It is important to protect their rights and well-being in order to secure a safer future.

The CRC has helped make the dreams of millions of children become a reality. Children’s rights have come to the forefront of global development. Birth registration is now more widespread because governments are focusing on ensuring children a home and an identity. The CRC has also raised awareness of violence against children. As a result, families, teachers, and everyday people have developed new standards of childcare, in which it is unacceptable to hurt a child in any way. Public awareness of child abuse and exploitation has minimized the number of harmful incidents set against children. The CRC has also resulted in a review of child labor laws and the addition of labor protections for people under the age of eighteen. The CRC also defends and protects all children who are forgotten. Despite these accomplishments, the UNICEF and other groups are still fighting to protect the rights of undocumented and disabled children, children who struggle with mental health, and children who are left on the streets with no food or money.

UNICEF Club contributors: Fatima Rahim, Connor Warmuth, and Dhru Goud

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.