Say Yes, Winter 2005: Editorial

Until relatively recently, children have been a voiceless majority in the arena of human rights -- to be seen virtually everywhere but not to be heard. The almost universal ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has changed this during the past decade by placing children’s rights on the world’s agenda. Governments that have ratified the CRC are obliged to undertake all appropriate legislative and administrative measures to safeguard the rights of children. By protecting children’s basic rights to life, liberty, education, healthcare and participation in decisions that affect them, we can put an end to the cycle of abuse, exploitation and neglect that threatens childhood the world over.

Yet children, at best, continue to put up with our convenient disregard for their opinion on a daily basis. Many of the less fortunate suffer the most appalling abuses of war and trafficking or the ravages of HIV/AIDS in silence. Domestic violence persists everywhere from the richest homes in the industrialised nations to the poorest homes in developing countries.

These injustices towards children are all the more pernicious and threatening not only because of the damage wrought on the children themselves, but also because of the subtle and pervasive effects they have on the long-term development of society. As younger generations reach adulthood, they are likely to repeat the same outmoded patterns of adult behaviour towards the generations that follow. In the latest State of the World’s Children 2005 report, Childhood Under Threat, UNICEF points out that:

A child that grows up protected from violence and abuse is more likely to grow up physically and mentally healthy, confident and self-respecting and less likely to abuse or exploit others.

It could be argued that a society’s successful implementation of the CRC can be measured by the extent to which its children are aware of their rights and how they think that those rights are respected. This year, as delegates at Turkey’s Fifth National Children’s Forum convened to discuss the issue of Childhood Under Threat of Violence, we took the opportunity to ask them what they think about the issue.

We hope that you find their views and opinions as thought-provoking as we did -- this issue of Say Yes is devoted to them.

Edmond McLoughney
UNICEF Representative, Turkey

PS: We’d very much like to hear readers reactions to this issue, so please feel free to contact us with your comments and suggestions.

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