The children we know and love are facing unprecedented challenges in 21st-century society. Despite much progress, children continue to face serious threats and injustices including physical, sexual and emotional violence; discrimination; neglect and malnutrition; poverty; poor health services and lack of access to quality education. These issues affect all children, regardless of their families’ incomes.

Children are the world’s future, and they are in need of our help to protect them from violence, poverty, hunger, discrimination and conflict. This is why governments, the United Nations – including the Committee on the Rights of the Child and UNICEF – and many other organisations work together to make sure all children enjoy their human rights.

Every country must ensure that children are protected from violence, neglect and exploitation; have a safe environment to live in; a good education that meets their individual needs; enough food and water; and adequate shelter. They must also have the right to play and take part in cultural activities. Governments must allow children to get information from lots of sources, including the internet, radio, television and newspapers. They should be allowed to express themselves freely unless it is against the law or harms others. They must have the right to family life, privacy and protection of their reputation (or good name).

From birth until the onset of legal adulthood, which usually occurs before puberty, a person is considered to be a child. Adolescence is a period of rapid physical and psychological change which affects all adolescents, regardless of their social background.

The rights of the child are enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most widely ratified international treaty in history. It has changed the way that governments and other organisations think about children – as individuals with unique needs, rather than as objects of charity or care. The Convention has made a real difference: child mortality rates are down, more children are going to school and there is less extreme poverty in the world than ever before.

The next 15 years will be crucial to ensuring that this noble vision becomes a reality for all children. To succeed, the global community must build on these achievements, and work harder to reach those who are still missing out – including millions of children still not going to school and those living in extreme poverty. In addition, the Convention must be strengthened to address new and emerging challenges, such as online child abuse and the use of drones against children. We can only achieve this if we have a true understanding of what it means to be a child. This requires a holistic approach that includes an emphasis on the whole family and the community. This means that we must include children’s rights in all of our work – not just on a policy level but in our everyday actions and decisions.