Children are the future of the world, and their lives depend on adults to protect them. It’s up to everyone – from parents and teachers to police officers and doctors – to make sure that all children have the right things in life, like education, healthcare and food.
Children have a lot of rights, including the right to be free from violence and neglect. They also have the right to play and spend time with their friends. The best way to protect kids is to teach them how to stay safe, and to do so from an early age. This includes making sure that their home is safe – for example, by locking up medicines and cleaning products or putting childproof latches on cabinets. It’s important to also teach kids how to spot danger and report it, by saying “see something, say something.” And of course, it’s important to make sure that children are wearing protective clothing when they go out, like a helmet or face mask.
Many children have their rights violated or not fully respected on a regular basis. For instance, about 290 million children worldwide haven’t had their births registered, which means they don’t have a legal identity or proof of existence, and can therefore not access essential services like healthcare or education. Children living in poverty are at greater risk of abuse, trafficking, child labour and exploitation and are more likely to be absent from school. They are also more likely to be sick and die at a younger age. Children in conflict zones are at particular risk because of barriers and checkpoints that prevent them from travelling quickly to school or work. For example, in Janna’s village, the Israeli army regularly arrests children, often during raids in the middle of the night while families are sleeping.
The government must respect a child’s right to have his or her own identity. They must also protect children from being removed from their families unless it’s in their best interests. This includes preventing children from being kidnapped or sold into marriage and other kinds of exploitation (being taken advantage of). The government should never keep children in prison without their parents, and when they are there they should be kept for the shortest appropriate period of time.
These are just some of the important children rights that were agreed on by countries that signed up to a treaty called the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which came into force in 1990. This is one of the most ratified – or agreed to by all 195 countries – international human rights treaties. It spells out all the different rights that every child has, and explains what governments must do to protect them. There are 54 articles in the Convention that describe everything from parental guidance to survival, development and freedom of expression and religion. You can find out more about it here.