Children’s rights
Children have all the same human rights as anyone else. They also have some additional specific rights. These children's rights apply until the age of 18.
UNCRC
In 1989 most of the countries in the world agreed at the United Nations to a set of rights called the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC for short).
These rights are for every child around the world regardless of:
- where they live
- ethnicity
- gender
- religion
- any other factor - all children should be treated the same
All adults in a country must make sure children's rights are met – that includes the police, teachers, the government and parents.
There are 54 articles mentioned in the UNCRC. These are listed in this
Here are just a few of them:
- Article 3 – your best interests must be considered when decisions are made about you by adults
- Article 15 – you can meet with other children and join groups with friends
- Article 28 – you have the right to an education
When you read through the rights of the child you might think some are more important to you than others. Maybe that's because you don’t normally need to worry about that right where we live! It might make more difference to children in another country.
It’s important to remember some key points about children’s rights: