Children and adolescents have the same fundamental human rights as adults. They also have special requests that are specific to their individual needs. Children are neither the property nor helpless objects of charity and are not their property. They are persons and subject to their rights.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child establishes children’s rights to realize their full potential. The Convention portrays the child as an individual and a community member. This gives them rights and responsibilities corresponding to their age and stage of development. The Convention recognizes children’s rights in this manner and puts the spotlight on the whole child.

The Convention recognizes every child’s human dignity and calls for the urgent protection of their well-being. It clarifies that every child should have access to the essential qualities of life, not just a privilege.

What Are Child Rights?

In simple terms, child rights are children’s human rights. No matter their race, gender, or birthplace, they have rights. These rights are guaranteed by international law through the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It states that all children must receive equal treatment and dignity. The child rights convention laws, which are non-discriminatory, are always in the child’s best interest.

• A child is defined by the (UN) Children’s Rights Convention as any human being less than 18 years old unless otherwise provided in the applicable law.
• UN child rights declare that children are entitled to special protection and assistance as they are considered vulnerable.
• World Vision strongly advocates for the UN Children’s Rights Convention, which provides a clear framework for protecting children and respecting their rights. 
• Children will have a better chance to grow up in a society that respects their rights.
• We are responsible for the children in our programs. We educate our children about their rights. This gives them the tools to stand up for their rights and helps their communities understand acceptable behavior toward children.
• We advocate for policy change at the national, local, and global levels so that our efforts can significantly impact as many children’s lives as possible.

History of Children’s Rights

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which was adopted in 1989, recognizes children’s economic and social rights. All countries have signed an international agreement, except the USA, South Sudan, and the United Nations have ratified it.

The convention on the rights of the child includes 42 rights. Plan International and our friends made a poster with all the requests for youth. Look at this! They cover everything from the right to information to the right to protection, the right to live in freedom from abuse, etc.

The CRC puts “the best interest of the child” at its core in all child-related activities. The CRC requires all government, family, and opposition parties to adhere to this principle, regardless of the issue regarding child treatment. 

The government has a stronger position than the opposition in implementing all measures designed to protect the child. Governments are expected to take steps to ensure that legislation is passed to guarantee the realization of children’s rights, as well as sufficient resources for their implementation.

A second initiative governments must take is to ensure that children in detention and care at public or private institutions are protected from torture and other ill-treatment. 

Why Is It Important For Children To Have Their Rights Protected?

To ensure the well-being of future generations, children’s development is essential. Because children are still developing, they are more at risk than adults for poor living conditions, such as poverty and inadequate health care, nutrition, or housing.

One other thing that all governments should do is enforce the worldwide prohibition against the death penalty for crimes committed by children, particularly when they are not yet eighteen years old. Governments should ensure that children are detained only in those cases where this is the only option.

A second step that governments must take is to ban the recruitment of children to the armed forces and prohibit any children from participating in armed hostilities. Additionally, governments should take action to protect children who have been internally displaced or refugees. This action should protect children from ills such as sexual exploitation, recruitment to the armed force, and other ills. There should be measures to ensure these children are resettled safely and dignifiedly.

The governments should take immediate action to ensure that children are protected from exploitative labor. These practices include children’s exposure to commercial sex, bond labor, and any other work that may threaten their health and safety. Finally, governments should establish all-inclusive programs to promote equality of treatment for children, regardless of whether they are girls or boys.

Frequently Ask Questions

What Are The Most Important Rights Of Children?

Children have the right to health and education: family life, play, recreation, a sufficient standard of living, and protection from abuse. Children’s Rights cover their developmental and age-appropriate needs as they grow older.

Why Is The Right To Education Important?

Education is a ladder that will lift children out of poverty and open the doors to a brighter future. Nearly a 265 million adolescents and children worldwide lack the opportunity to learn and complete education. Six hundred seventeen million children and teens cannot read and do basic math.

How Can This Be Made Possible For Every Child?

Follow these five steps to do this.

• Addressing disadvantages in early childhood is a priority. 
• Assure that teaching proceeds appropriately for the least proficient learners. 
• Children in poverty should have the best teachers. 
• Help children to learn by providing learning resources.

Conclusion 

Children need rights. These rights must be granted to children to protect them from possible abuses. Children have been used as child soldiers in wars, detained, abused sexually, and forced to do child work. All these abuses of children must be eradicated. To end these child abuses, it is necessary to create the right laws to guarantee that children have their rights and are protected in the best way possible.