Children’s Rights and Related Issues

Preamble

On November 20, 1989, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most comprehensive treaty for the protection and support of children in existence today. It reaffirms the fact that children, because of their vulnerability, need special care and protection, defined in terms of rights. The Convention represents a historic milestone. It not only symbolizes the many years of struggle to improve children’s status in society but also attempts to consolidate international law on the basic rights of children.

The Convention has been ratified by more countries than any other human rights treaty in history. Canada is one of over 190 nations that have signed the Convention, illustrating our government’s commitment to recognize the fundamental human dignity of our children and to ensure their well-being and healthy development.

By signing this document, countries are obliged to review their domestic laws and practices regarding children and to make any changes needed to reach the minimum standards set by the Convention.

The Convention requires that children, as well as adults, know about the rights described within it. Schools are the logical place to reach the vast majority of children.

"education about children's rights affects the learner ... through imparting the attitudes and values upon which the practice of citizenship and democratic living is based, children are taught respect for the rights of others, social responsibility, and to support justice and equality."
from Empowering Children: Children's Rights Education as a Pathway to Citizenship (by Robert Brian Howe & Katherine Covell, 2005 University of Toronto Press).

Collection of resources annotated by Ginette Sauvé-Frankel

• See all the resources related to Children's Rights
• Children's Rights Websites
• Text of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, A World Fit for Children
• Curriculum & Tools for Teaching Children's Rights
• Reports & papers regarding children's rights & Convention of the Rights of the Child education