20 Years - The Convention on the Rights of the Child

HARARE, Zimbabwe, 15 December 2009 - Leaders in Zimbabwe’s Inclusive Government joined with the rest of world in celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

AMMAN, Jordan, 25 November 2009 – It started as a wild idea: to bring stars from across the Middle East and North Africa to deliver one message on child rights – a resoundingly positive call from this region, so often in the news for the wrong reasons.

TBILISI, Georgia, 23 November 2009 – A fine mist swirled around four-year-old Mariam's face as she breathed through a clear rubber mask during her nebulizer treatment. An asthma sufferer, Mariam was being treated free of charge at the new Child Development Centre in Tbilisi.

NEW YORK, USA, 20 November 2009 – Today at the United Nations, UNICEF and its partners commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the ground-breaking human rights covenant that codifies rights for all children everywhere.

CYBERJAYA, Malaysia, 20 November 2009 – Youth from different nationalities across the world are sending a message of peace and hope through music, as part of a UNICEF partnership with Limkokwing University of Creative Technology to create a world fit for children.

LEBAKENG, Lesotho, 18 November 2009 – Mapalesa Sebatanyane, 73, is the primary caregiver for her four grandchildren, but she struggles to feed them with the small income she earns raising chickens in this remote village.

PERMA VILLAGE, Cameroon, 17 November 2009 – Hawa Mahmadou, 12, was devastated when she was forced to drop out of school two years ago because her parents couldn’t afford the fees. She spent her days doing household chores.

ANKARA, Turkey, 12 November 2009 – Understanding child rights and how to produce stories about children in a responsible and ethical way is now part of the journalism curriculum at seven Turkish universities.

LONG LUTENG, Malaysia – Meriam Anyie was born deep in the rainforest of Malaysian Borneo. As members of the Penan ethnic group, a nomadic indigenous people in the state of Sarawak, she and her family spent most of their life in the jungle, never living in a permanent home throughout her childhood.

HARARE, Zimbabwe, 6 November 2009 – The 17th session of the Children’s Parliament, a programme of the Zimbabwe Youth Council, opened recently with the aim of spurring the government into action to ensure child survival and empowerment.

NEW YORK, USA., 4 November 2009 – As part of the run-up to 20 November, the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman yesterday introduced a photo exhibit and opened a documentary film festival with a special screening at UNICEF headquarters in New York.

NEW YORK, USA, 28 October 2009 - In the effort to make further progress on implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), much depends upon delivering good governance for children. At a panel held at UNICEF House in New York yesterday, experts discussed the interdependence between child rights and good governance.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, 26 October 2009 – As Head Prefect, Dashenee Huthamaputhiran, 17, is a friendly face around Convent Sentul High School, offering advice to students who break school rules or lending a helping hand to those in trouble.

DAMASCUS, Syria, 20 October 2009 – After two year’s work, the Syrian Commission for Family Affairs (SCFA) in collaboration with UNICEF has concluded a report on the Situation Analysis of Children (SITAN) in Syria.

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, 6 August 2009 – Every day, Turganaly Kenjebaev stands on a bridge beside a busy main road, hoping that someone will stop by and offer him a job for the day. If he’s lucky, he’ll earn $4.

LAO CAI, Viet Nam, 23 July 2009 – Against the dramatic backdrop of the foothills of northern Viet Nam, students at the Kim Dong Lower Secondary gather for their morning exercises. In perfectly straight lines, and with impeccable timing, they go through their routine, which heralds the start of the school day.

DAMASCUS, Syrian Arab Republic, 16 June 2009 – Miriam, 11, is from Baghdad. She has been attending Jerji Toma School since 2008. This year she witnessed a transformation. When she first arrived, she remembers paint cracking off the walls and old school books.

AMMAN, Jordan, 2 March 2009 – The first UNICEF Regional Awards for Media on Child Rights were handed out last week at an official ceremony in Amman, under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, UNICEF’s Eminent Advocate for children.

NEW YORK, USA, 30 June 2009 – People all over the world can talk about children’s rights, but it is children themselves who have firsthand experience on the subject. In honour of the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) – which will be observed later this year – UNICEF is inviting young people around the world to share their thoughts on the issue in video form.

RUSTAVI, Georgia, 26 June 2009 –  Tornike Shubutidze darts around the city square in Rustavi with a small video camera looking for the best angles to film passersby. The 15-year-old is fascinated by the art of filmmaking. He dreams of becoming a cameraman and working in either television or in the film industry.

MOSCOW VILLAGE, Republic of Congo, 15 June 2009 – It is mid-morning, when a UN Refugee Agency boat docks along the Bangui River. The passengers – a team of mobile health workers – climb up the steep bank. Physicians from ‘Doctors for Africa’ and other volunteers have travelled five hours to Moscow, a small village on the edge of the forest.

HARARE, Zimbabwe, 18 June 2009 – UNICEF recently supported a successful round of outreach vaccinations during 'Child Health Days'. The intensive five-day campaign reached even the most remote communities in Zimbabwe.

DHAHONG, Cameroon, 6 July 2009 – On the surface, the refugee situation in eastern Cameroon looks like a success, but it is also one of immense chaos. Since 2002, over 60,000 refugees from the neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR) have been integrated into host communities here.

DJAN, Côte d'Ivoire, 17 June 2009 – Sabra Seydou arrived at the Abobo Kennedy Clinic in Abidjan with just minutes to spare before giving birth. It was only her second visit to the clinic since the beginning of her pregnancy, as she could not afford all of the standard prenatal tests or consultations.

PRISTINA, 29 June 2009 – In a desolate corner on the outskirts of Pristina, Kosovo, two men sit on the bare ground, mending a bicycle that is a lifeline for their families.

KIPUSHI, Democratic Republic of Congo, 12 June 2009 – Covered in powder, Sylvian, 2, sits alongside his mother, pounding rocks with a mallet in an ore heap in  the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rocks, dust and sun: This is the only life Sylvian has known.

XIHE, China, 11 May 2009 – Well before dawn, sixth-grader Yang Mei, along with her younger brother Yang Zhen and sister Yang Yamei, leave their home in rural Gansu province for school.

NORTH-WEST FRONTIER PROVINCE, Pakistan, 29 May 2009 – The girls in the tent hosting first-grade students at the Yar Hussain displacement camp were reciting the day’s lessons. Amidst the group of six- and seven-year-olds sat Habiba Rojan, who looks much older than the others but does not know her age because she was not registered at birth. She thinks she is 12.

BORICHA, Ethiopia, 28 May 2009 – Every week, mothers from the drought-affected villages of Ethiopia’s Boricha district bring their children to be weighed and measured at the Yirba Health Centre.

ABIDJAN, Côte d'Ivoire, 2 June 2009 – It’s Tuesday morning and the children of the heavily populated neighbourhood of Abobo are warming up for a day of study.

TBILISI, Georgia, 9 June 2009 – At Kindergarten No. 31 in the Georgian city of Rustavi, many teachers still conduct their classes using methods developed during the former Soviet era.