Children's 

rights
 By:Alberto Mateo Arcia Arteaga, 2°

History of the Rights

of the Child
In ancient times no one thought of offering special
protection to children.

In the Middle Ages, children were considered "little

adults."

In the mid-nineteenth century, the idea of offering

special protection to children arose in France; this
allowed the progressive development of the rights of
minors. Beginning in 1841, laws began to protect
children in the workplace, and beginning in 1881,
French law guaranteed children's right to an
education.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the protection
of children began to be implement, including in the
social, legal and health areas. This new development,
which began in France, later spread throughout
Europe.

Since 1919, after the creation of the League of

Nations (which would later become the UN), the
international community began to give more
importance to this issue, which is why it created the
Committee for the Protection of Children.

On September 16, 1924, the League of Nations

approved the Declaration of the Rights of the Child
(also called the Geneva Declaration), the first
international treaty on the Rights of the Child. Across
five chapters, the Declaration grants specific rights to
children, as well as responsibilities to adults.
The Geneva Declaration is based on the work of the
Polish physician Janusz Korczak.
The Second World War left among its victims
thousands of children in a desperate situation.
Consequently, the United Nations Children's Fund
(known as UNICEF) was created in 1947 and was
granted permanent international organization status
in 1953.

During its early days, UNICEF focused particularly on

helping young victims of World War II, primarily
European children. However, in 1953, his mandate
reached an international dimension and he began to
help children in developing countries. The
Organization then established a series of programs so
that children have access to an education, good
health, clean water and food.

Since December 10, 1948, the Universal Declaration

of Human Rights recognizes that "motherhood and
childhood have the right to special care and
assistance."

In 1959, the United Nations General Assembly

approved the Declaration of the Rights of the Child,
which outlines children's rights in ten principles.
Although this document has not yet been sign by all
countries and its principles are indicative, it paves the
way for the Universal Declaration on the Rights of the
Child.

After approving the Declaration of Human Rights, the

UN wanted to present a Charter of Fundamental
Rights that would require governments to respect it.
Consequently, the Human Rights Commission
decided to draft this document.

In the midst of the Cold War, and after arduous

negotiations, the General Assembly of the United
Nations approved in New York two complementary
texts to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
 The International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights, which recognizes the right to
protection against economic exploitation and the
right to education and medical care.

 The International Covenant on Civil and Political

Rights, which establishes the right to have a
name and a nationality.

 The UN proclaimed the year 1979 as the

International Year of the Child. During this year, a
real change of spirit took place, since Poland
proposed to create a working group within the
 Human Rights Commission that would be in
charge of drafting an international charter.

 Thus, on November 20, 1989, the United Nations

General Assembly approved the Convention on
the Rights of the Child. Throughout 54 articles,
the document establishes the economic, social
and cultural rights of children.

This is the most rapidly approved human rights

treaty. It became an international treaty and on
September 2, 1990 it entered into force after
being ratified by 20 countries.

On July 11, 1990, the Organization for African

Unity approved the African Charter on the Rights
and Welfare of the Child.

The Convention on the worst forms of child

labor was adopt on June 17, 1999.

In May 2000, the Optional Protocol to the

International Bill on the Rights of the Child,
dealing with children's involvement in armed
conflict, was ratified and entered into force in
2002. This document prohibits minors from
participating in armed conflict.
 So far, 190 of 192 States have signed the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, although
there are some reservations about certain parts
of the document. Only the United States and
Somalia have signed but not ratified it.

Today, his ideal and forceful character are

universally accepted. However, its performance
can be improve and it is still necessary to
transform the words.
Why are children's
rights important?
The importance of children's rights
There are many reasons why children's rights
deserved their own Human Rights Convention.

Children are people

Children are not the property of their parents or the State,
nor are they adults in the process of formation. Children
have the same status as all other members of the human
family.
Children begin life as totally
dependent beings
Children have to depend on adults for the care and
guidance they need to become independent. Ideally,
adult family members of the children provide such
care. However, when the adults responsible for
raising children cannot meet their needs, it is up to
the State, as the main guarantor of rights, to seek
alternatives that take into account the best interests
of the child.
Government action, or lack of
action, has more serious
consequences for children than
for any other group in society
Virtually every sphere of government policy – from
education to public health – affects children to some
degree. Short-sighted policies that do not take
children into consideration have negative
consequences for the future of all members of
society.

Children's views must be heard

and taken into account in political
processes
Children generally do not vote or participate in
political processes. Not paying special attention to
the views of children – at home and in schools, in
local communities and even in government – means
ignoring their views on the many issues that affect
them now, or will affect them in the future .
Many changes in society affect
children disproportionately and
often negatively
Factors such as the transformation of the family
structure, globalization, climate change, digitization,
large-scale migration, changing employment
patterns, and a weakening social welfare network in
many countries have serious repercussions on kids.
The impact of these changes is particularly
devastating in situations of armed conflict and other
emergencies.
The healthy development of
children is crucial for the future
well-being of any society.
Because they are in the process of development,
children are particularly vulnerable – more so than
adults – to poor living conditions, such as poverty,
poor health care, poor nutrition, lack of clean water,
housing poor quality and environmental pollution.
Disease, malnutrition and poverty threaten the future
of children and thus the future of the societies in
which they live.
Failing children has an immense
cost to society
Social research indicates that children's early
experiences greatly influence their future
development. The course of their development
determines their contribution – or cost – to society
throughout their lives.
 Examples of
children's rights
Right to play and rest.

Right to the protection of your private life.

Right to have an opinion and be taken into account.

Right to receive health.

Right to receive immediate help in case of
emergencies.

Right to receive education.

Right to the love of a family.

Right to be protected from sexual abuse.

Right to freedom of worship.

Right to a name and a nationality.

Right to decent housing.

 What organizations
promote children's rights?
The Declaration of the Rights of the Child was
proclaimed by the United Nations and its objective
was to make the governments of all countries respect
and guarantee the well-being of all children. But,
what organizations promote the rights of the smallest
besides the states? Different Non Governmental
Organizations (NGOs) such as Meraki Bay dedicate all
their efforts to defending the rights of adolescents
and children. For example, in our case, our goal is to
keep children off the streets, encourage them to fight
for their future and instill values in them.
Every day after school the little ones from Hangberg,
the community where we work, come to our
workshops. First we give them a snack and then we
do the corresponding activity. We talk about
feminism, we carry out sexual or oral education
workshops, we help them in the study. However, we
cannot do all this alone.
But what other institutions promote
human rights besides Meraki? The main
NGOs for children are:

 UNICEF: UNICEF (United Nations International

Children's Emergency Fund) is the United Nations
agency for children. Allocates its resources to
child survival, education, emergency situations,
research and analysis or innovation in favor of
children, among other areas. They fight for
gender equality, to prevent the transmission of
HIV among the smallest, to guarantee them
access to water and food or for children's right to
health.

 Save the Children: This NGO was founded in 1919

and is one of the main international
 organizations. Save the Children works in 120
different countries to protect the most
vulnerable, minors. Their objective is to ensure
that children's rights are respected and, for
example, in Spain they work to ensure that the
rights of MENA (Unaccompanied Foreign Minors)
are respected.

 Plan International: was founded in 1937 and

works in more than 70 countries. One of its main
campaigns is called 'Because I am a girl' and the
goal is to ensure that girls around the world have
exactly the same rights as boys.
 Children without Borders: this NGO was born in
1998 and works in Spain, Niger or the Sahara,
among other countries. Its objective is to
guarantee the feeding and correct nutrition of
the little ones, mother-child health, the
universalization of education and the awareness
of civil society, among other aspects.
 Child abuse
Six out of ten children are
physically abused worldwide
Columna1

children who suffer abuse

children who are not abused

40%
60%