UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
How we protect children's rights with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
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What is the UNCRC?
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, or UNCRC, is the basis of all of UNICEF’s work. It is the most complete statement of children’s rights ever produced and is the most widely-ratified international human rights treaty in history.
What makes the UNCRC so special?
The Convention has 54 articles that cover all aspects of a child’s life and set out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that all children everywhere are entitled to. It also explains how adults and governments must work together to make sure all children can enjoy all their rights.
Every child has rights, whatever their ethnicity, gender, religion, language, abilities or any other status.
The Convention must be seen as a whole: all the rights are linked and no right is more important that another. The right to relax and play (Article 31) and the right to freedom of expression (Article 13) have equal importance as the right to be safe from violence (Article 19) and the right to education (Article 28).
We are the only organisation working for children recognised by the Convention.
The UNCRC is also the most widely ratified human rights treaty in the world – it’s even been accepted by non-state entities, such as the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), a rebel movement in South Sudan. All UN member states except for the United States have ratified the Convention. The Convention came into force in the Viet Nam in on 20th Decemeber 1990.
You can read the full convention (pdf), or just a summary (pdf), to find out more about the rights that are included.
There are four articles in the convention that are seen as special. They’re known as the “General Principles” and they help to interpret all the other articles and play a fundamental role in realising all the rights in the Convention for all children. They are:
- Non-discrimination (article 2)
- Best interest of the child (article 3)
- Right to life survival and development (article 6)
- Right to be heard (article 12)
The Convention also contains a number of agreements to add further unique rights for children which are optional for countries – they are called “Optional Protocols”. They include:
- The Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict
This requires governments to increase the minimum age that children can join the armed forces from 15 years and to ensure that members of their armed forces under the age of 18 do not take a direct part in armed conflict. - The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography
This provides detailed requirements for governments to end the sexual exploitation and abuse of children. It also protects children from being sold for non-sexual purposes, such as other forms of forced labour, illegal adoption and organ donation. - The Optional Protocol on a communications procedure
This allows children to submit a complaint to the United Nations when their rights have been violated and their own country’s legal system were not able to offer a solution.
