The ‘United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child’ known as UNCRC or CRC, is an important agreement by countries who have promised to protect children’s rights. UNCRC explains who should be called a child, what all are their rights, and what are the responsibilities of respective governments. All the rights are connected, they are all equally important and they cannot be taken away from children.
Exactly 30 years ago, on 20 November 1989, world leaders came together and made a historic commitment to the world’s children. They made a promise to every child. The promise of protecting and fulfilling their rights, by adopting an international legal framework – the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
What does UNCRC tell us? That the children are not just objects who belong to their parents and for whom decisions are made. Also, the children cannot be considered just adults in training. Rather, they are human beings and individuals with their own rights. The Convention says childhood is separate from adulthood, and lasts until 18 years of age. Childhood is a special, protected time, in which children must be allowed to grow, learn, play, develop and flourish with dignity.
UNCRC Articles:
Definition of a child: any person under the age of 18.
No discrimination: on the basis of identity, location, language, religion, thoughts, looks, gender, disability, financial condition, family background, family beliefs and family occupation. No child should be treated unfairly for any reason.
Best interests of the child: While making decisions, adults and governments should think about how their decisions will affect children.
Making rights real: Governments must ensure that every child in their countries can enjoy all the rights in this Convention.
Family guidance as children develop: Governments should let families and communities guide their children about using their rights in the best way.
Life survival and development: Every child has the right to be alive. Governments must make sure that children survive and develop in the best possible way.
Name and nationality: Children must be registered when they are born and given a name which is officially recognized by the government. Children must have a nationality (belong to a country).
Identity: Children have the right to their own identity – an official record of who they are which includes their name, nationality and family relations.
Keeping families together: Children should not be separated from their parents unless they are not being properly looked after.
Contact with parents across countries: For children and parents living in different countries, governments must let them travel to stay in contact and be together.
Protection from kidnapping: Governments must stop children being taken out of the country when this is against the law.
Respect for children's views: Children have the right to give their opinions freely on issues affecting them. Adults should listen and take children seriously.
Sharing thoughts freely: Children have the right to share freely with others what they learn, think and feel.
Freedom of thought and religion: Children can choose their own thoughts, opinions and religion.
Setting up or joining groups: Children can join or set up groups or organisations, and they can meet with others.
Protection of privacy: Every child has the right to privacy.
Access to information: Children have the right to get information from the Internet, radio, television, newspapers, books and other sources.
Responsibility of parents: Parents and guardians should always consider what is best for that child. Governments should help them.
Protection from violence: Governments must protect children from violence, abuse and being neglected by anyone who looks after them.
Children without families: Every child who cannot be looked after by their own family has the right to be looked after properly and with respect by other people.
Children who are adopted: The most important thing for adopted children is to do what is best for them.
Refugee children: Children moving to another country as refugees should get help and protection and have the same rights as children born in that country.
Children with disabilities: Governments should remove all obstacles to become independent and to participate actively in the community.
Health, water, food, environment: Children have the right to the best health care, clean water, healthy food and a clean and safe environment.
Review of a child's placement: Every child placed somewhere away from home, for care, protection or health, should have their situation checked regularly to see if this is still the best place for the child to be.
Social and economic help: Governments should provide money or other support to help children from poor families.
Food, clothing, a safe home: Children have the right to food, clothing and a safe place to live.
Access to education: Every child has the right to an education. Primary education should be free. Secondary and higher education should be available to every child.
Aims of education: Children’s education should help them fully develop their personalities, talents and abilities.
Minority culture, language and religion: Children have the right to use their own language, culture and religion, even if in a minority.
Rest, play, culture, arts: Every child has the right to rest, relax, play and to take part in cultural and creative activities.
Protection from harmful work: Children have the right to be protected from doing work that is dangerous or bad for their education, health or development.
Protection from harmful drugs: Governments must protect children from taking, making, carrying or selling harmful drugs.
Protection from sexual abuse: The government should protect children from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.
Prevention of sale and trafficking: Governments must make sure that children are not kidnapped or sold.
Protection from exploitation: Children have the right to be protected from all kinds of exploitation.
Children in detention: Children accused of breaking the law should not be killed, tortured, treated cruelly, put in prison forever, or put in prison with adults.
Protection in war: Children have the right to be protected during war.
Recovery and reintegration: Children have the right to get help if they have been hurt, neglected, treated badly or affected by war, to get back their health and dignity.
Children who break the law: Children accused of breaking the law have the right to legal help and fair treatment.
Best law for children applies: If the laws of a country protect children’s rights better than this Convention, then those laws should be used.
Everyone must know children's rights: Governments should actively tell all the children and adults about this Convention and children’s rights.
How the Convention works (43 to 54): These articles explain how governments, the United Nations – including the Committee on the Rights of the Child and UNICEF - and other organisations work to make sure all children enjoy all their rights.
Looking back at last 30 years:
UNCRC is the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history. It has inspired governments to change laws and policies and make investments towards best health care and nutrition for every child. The convention has caused stronger safeguards to protect children from violence and exploitation. It has also enabled more children to have their voices heard and participate in their societies.
Despite this progress, UNCRC is still not fully implemented or widely known and understood. Millions of children continue to suffer violations of their rights when they are denied adequate health care, nutrition, education and protection from violence. Childhoods continue to be cut short when children are forced to leave school, do hazardous work, get married, fight in wars or are locked up in adult prisons.
And global changes, like the rise of digital technology, environmental change, prolonged conflict and mass migration are completely changing childhood. Today’s children face new threats to their rights, but they also have new opportunities to realize their rights.
Over the past 30 years, children’s lives have been transformed globally in following ways:
More than 50% reduction in deaths of children under 5 since 1990;
Almost 50% reduction in the proportion of undernourished children since 1990;
More people have cleaner drinking water today than in 1990.
At the same time, following threats are still affecting the childhood across the globe:
26.2 Crore children and youth are out of school;
65 Crore girls and women were married under 18 years of age;
By 2040, around 25% of the children will live in areas with extremely limited water resources.
UNCRC and India:
India ratified UNCRC on 11 December 1992, agreeing in principles all articles except with certain reservations on issues relating to child labour.
In India, there is a law preventing children under the age of 18 from working, but there is no outright ban on child labour. The practice of employing children below 18 is generally permitted in most industries except those deemed "hazardous". Although a law in October 2006 banned child labour in hotels, restaurants, and as domestic servants, there continues to be high demand for children as hired help in the home. Current estimates of the number of child labourers in the country, even from the government's conservative estimate, indicate 40 Lakh children under 14 years of age.
In 2016, the Child and Adolescent Labour (Amendment) Act was introduced, which prohibited economic employment of children under the age of 14 years, and prohibited employment of adolescents (14-17 years of age) in hazardous occupations. Few exceptions exist in case of children under 14 years, such as helping in the family enterprise, and participating in the entertainment industry, provided that it doesn't harm their school education, and is not in between 7 pm to 8 am.
Apart from disagreement on child labour, Indian government has also failed during last 30 years, on the part of ensuring that every child in the country enjoys the rights mentioned in UNCRC such as, no discrimination, life survival and development, respect for their views, freedom of thought and religion, protection of privacy, access to education and information, protection from violence, harmful work, sexual abuse, and exploitation, to name a few. It becomes the responsibility of the parents, guardians, and the conscious members of civil society to raise the voice on behalf of children, against non compliance to UNCRC rights of the children.
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