This page is background information, last updated in May 2002 and still available for reference. For the latest on the Special Session on Children, please go to the Special Session index.

Press kit

Issues & Information
About the Convention on the Rights of the Child

Children are born with inherent human rights. n with inherent human rights. This is the basic premise of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, an international treaty adopted in 1989 and now ratified by all but two countries. This landmark treaty makes the care and protection of every person under the age of 18 – every child – a priority for everyone, especially governments.

The Convention is unique in that it is comprehensive, universal and unconditional. Even more far-reaching than its legal mandates, the Convention established new ethical principles and international norms of behaviour towards children. Further, for the first time during a United Nations treaty negotiation, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) played a leading role in deliberations.

Children are especially in need of the Convention. In most societies, there are no legal or social structures specifically dedicated to children’s rights. Children are more vulnerable than adults to the conditions in which they live and to exploitation and abuse, they have no vote or political influence, little economic power and too often their voices are not heard.

The Convention has four general principles:

1. The views and voices of childern are to be heard and respected. This principle means that children’s opinions are important and their views and voices must be taken into account. They should also participate in decision-making processes that affect them, in ways that are appropriate for their age.
2. Children must be ensured rights without discrimination, “irrespective of the child’s or his or her parent’s or legal guardian’s race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, bir th or other status.” (Article 2.)
3. Children have a right to survival and development in all aspects of their lives, including the physical, emotional, psychosocial, cognitive, social and cultural aspects.
4. The best interests of the child must be a primary consideration in all decisions or actions that affect the child or all children. This holds true whether decisions are made by governmental, administrative or judicial authorities, or by families themselves.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child. The Committee, an internationally elected body of 10 independent experts, monitors the Convention’s implementation, stimulates further action and suggests ways of addressing problems encountered, including through international cooperation. Countries must report to the Committee two years after ratifying the Convention and every five years thereafter. The Committee’s observations and recommendations are supposed to be widely disseminated to the public, serving as a basis for national discussions and debates on how to improve the lives of children. NGOs and specialized agencies, such as UNICEF, support the Committee’s work through advocacy and monitoring and by providing technical assistance and practical follow-up to its recommendations.

The Convention in action

The Convention is alive in every region and country of the world. More than 20 countries have incorporated child rights provisions into their constitutions and many more have adopted legislation or reformed existing legislation to ensure compatibility with the provisions of the Convention. Many governments have established bodies or mechanisms that give special priority to children. And in scores of countries, important steps have been taken to promote behavioural change and to put an end to practices that are incompatible with the spirit and provisions of the Convention.

Civil society is playing a key role. Communities have mobilized around the issues of girls’ education, sexual exploitation, juvenile justice, child labour and the rights of children with disabilities. NGOs have trained and informed teachers, police officers, judges and health and social service workers about the principles and articles of the Convention. And children themselves have been heard from via conferences, opinion polls, newsletters, radio and television.

The adoption of two Optional Protocols reinforced the global commitment to the Convention. States parties reaffirmed and expanded their commitment to protecting children by adopting, in May 2000, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict – which raises from 15 to 18 the minimum age for participation in hostilities and compulsory recruitment into armed forces – and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

More than a decade after its adoption, the Convention continues to make a difference in the lives of children the world over. Yet there is much more to be done if the Convention is to reach the millions of children whose rights are unfulfilled or violated, those still out of school; those living lives of abuse and exploitation; or those separated from their families by war and conflict. The United Nations General Assembly’s Special Session on Children is central to the efforts to mobilize international leadership on implementation of the Convention.