Empowering Children: Children’s Rights and the UNCRC

Welcome to MHREC’s Empowering Children: Building a Rights-Respecting Community Campaign, an awareness series on children’s rights! Over the next weeks, we’ll delve into various aspects of children’s rights, drawing from a seven-week course our youth officer attended at Malmo University in Sweden. This series aims to highlight critical issues, spark conversations, and promote a deeper understanding of the urgent challenges children face around the world.

Why Children’s Rights and the UNCRC?

Children’s rights are about ensuring that every child, no matter where they are, has the chance to grow up safe, healthy, and happy. These rights are protected by international agreements, most notably the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on November 20, 1989, the UNCRC is the most comprehensive framework for the protection and promotion of children’s rights globally. It has been ratified by 196 countries, making it the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history.

What is the UNCRC?

The UNCRC sets out children’s civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. Four main principles guide it:

  1. Non-discrimination: All children have the same rights without discrimination of any kind.
  2. Best interests of the child: The best interests of the child should be a primary consideration in all actions concerning children.
  3. Right to life, survival, and development: Every child has the inherent right to life, and States must ensure the child’s survival and development.
  4. Respect for the views of the child: Children have the right to express their opinions freely in all matters affecting them, with their views being given due weight according to their age and maturity.

What to Expect in This Series

Each week, we’ll explore a specific theme related to children’s rights. Here’s a sneak peek at the topics we will cover:

  1. Philosophical Concepts
  2. Climate Change
  3. Postcolonialism
  4. Gender
  5. Voting Rights
  6. Education

Join the Conversation

We invite you to join us on this journey. Your thoughts, questions, and experiences are not just valuable but crucial. Let’s work together, empowered by knowledge, to promote and protect children’s rights everywhere.

Stay tuned for our next post, which will explore the philosophical foundations of children’s rights, focusing on welfare versus will theory. Until then, let’s keep the conversation going and continue to advocate for the rights of all children.

Il-Homework tal-Ġimgħa: General Knowledge Quiz on the CRC

Test your knowledge of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) with this quick quiz!

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Well done! Answers: What is the CRC? B. Convention on the Rights of the Child When did the United Nations adopt the CRC? A. 1989 How many articles are in the CRC? C. 54 Which of the following is NOT a right included in the CRC? B. Right to vote Which country has not ratified the CRC? A. United States
What is the CRC?
When did the United Nations adopt the CRC?
How many articles are in the CRC?
Which of the following is NOT a right included in the CRC?
Which of the following is a country NOT party to the CRC?

 

This activity is part of the project “Strengthening Children’s Rights Advocacy through International Training”. Partly funded by the Government of Malta Social Causes Fund.