Children have rights – things that everyone must respect and protect. These rights are set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) which contains 54 articles that outline what children have a right to and how governments should work together to ensure all children can enjoy them.
Children’s rights include their right to parental guidance, survival and development, education, a name, identity, nationality and family relations. They also include their right to freedom of expression and thought, the right to freedom of association with other people, the right to play and the right to a standard of living that will allow physical, moral, spiritual and social development.
Governments have a duty to protect children and make sure they are safe. They must protect them from harmful work, drugs and sexual exploitation (being taken advantage of). They should help children to keep in touch with their parents if they cannot stay together. They must ensure that children have food, shelter and a place to live if they are homeless or in need of it. They should also have a good school, medical care and other essential services.
All children have a right to say what they think and feel and be listened to, even by adults, so that their opinions are considered, not dismissed. They can express their opinions in any way they choose – for example, by writing or speaking. They can also join groups and organisations and meet with others if they want to, unless this harms other people. Children’s rights also include their right to religious freedom and the right not to be forced into having sex with anyone against their wishes.
They have the right to an education that is free and suitable for their age and level of knowledge, and which helps them achieve their full potential. Governments must provide this, taking into account the special needs of disabled and gifted children. They must also take steps to protect children from harmful and dangerous practices such as virginity testing on girls, female genital mutilation, circumcision of boys and child marriage. They should also avoid using sexual maturity exams on migrant and refugee children to determine their age and the forced or coerced sterilisation of intersex children.
Children have the right to be protected by the state during war and other emergencies. They must not be forcibly recruited into armed forces or sent to war, and they should be protected from all forms of violence, neglect and abuse while affected by conflict. Children must be able to get help and compensation if they are hurt, neglected or made victims of war.
Every child has a right to be looked after by the main people who are responsible for bringing them up (usually their parents). If they cannot be looked after by their parents then they have a right to be looked after in a family that respects their religion, culture and language, and not with strangers. They have a right to an official record of their name and their nationality which must not be changed, taken away or destroyed, and they have the right to know who their parents are and where they are.