UNCRC

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is an international convention that 192 countries worldwide have signed and ratified. The United Nations adopted the convention in 1989 and the United Kingdom signed and ratified it in 1991.

The Convention is an international agreement that gives all children and young people under the age of 18 years their own set of rights called articles. There are 54 articles in the convention. Articles 1-42 outline children’s specific rights such as the right to education (article 28), the right not to live in poverty (article 26) and the right to be protected from abuse and neglect (article 19). Articles 43-53, are about how adults and governments should work together to make sure that every child has all the rights in the convention.

Of particular importance are the four articles of the convention that define the guiding principles. Taken together, they form an approach to the rights of the child that can guide how we can make sure children’s rights in Wales, the UK and worldwide are met.

The Guiding Principles are:

Non-discrimination (Article 2). The convention applies to all children whatever their race, religion, abilities, whatever they think or say, or whatever family they come from.

Best interests of the Child (Article 3). All organisations concerned with children & young people should work towards what is best for each child.

The right to life, survival and development (Article 6). All children have the right to life. Governments should ensure that children survive and develop healthily.

Participation and respect for the views of the child (Article 12). Children & young people have the right to say what they think should happen, when adults are making decisions that affect them and to have their decisions taken into account.

The UNCRC is important because:

• It makes adults see children as individuals with rights.
• It applies to all children and young people everywhere,
• It covers the full range of human rights.
• It can be used to put pressure on governments to ensure children’s rights are respected.
• It gives children and young people the chance to make their voices heard at the highest level.

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child measures how well governments are actually doing. Each government must report back on children’s rights in their country. If they’re not doing enough, the United Nations Committee makes recommendations about how they can improve.