A legally binding instrument
The Convention
on the Rights of the Child is the first legally binding international
instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights—civil,
cultural, economic, political and social rights. In 1989, world leaders
decided that children needed a special convention just for them because
people under 18 years old often need special care and protection that
adults do not. The leaders also wanted to make sure that the world
recognized that children have human rights too.
The Convention sets out these rights in 54 articles and two Optional Protocols. It
spells out the basic human rights that children everywhere have: 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. The four core principles of the Convention
are non-discrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; the
right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of
the child. Every right spelled out in the Convention is inherent to the
human dignity and harmonious development of every child. The Convention
protects children's rights by setting standards in health care;
education; and legal, civil and social services.
By
agreeing to undertake the obligations of the Convention (by ratifying
or acceding to it), national governments have committed themselves to
protecting and ensuring children's rights and they have agreed to hold
themselves accountable for this commitment before the international
community. States parties to the Convention are obliged to develop and
undertake all actions and policies in the light of the best interests of
the child.
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