Children's rights

Oh, it looks like a new baby was just born. And… another on the other side of the world. Adorable! Right now, the lives of Fatima and Rafa are exactly the same. They’ve come into the world healthy and happy.

Fatima’s parents register her birth with the government. She receives a birth certificate. But Rafa’s birth will not be registered. He was born to unmarried parents in Indonesia, a country where a marriage certificate is needed to register a birth. Does it matter?

Not registering at birth, can make it difficult, sometimes impossible, to enroll in school, access healthcare, open a bank account, vote, or even get a job. And a child without a birth certificate can’t prove their age. This means they are at risk of being forced into adult situations while they are still children, like dangerous work, or even marriage. Without a record of their birth, a person does not legally exist. But Rafa is only a baby, he can’t control whether his parents are married or not.

The United Nations identifies all children 18 and younger as minors. Rafa, like all other minors, was born into circumstances beyond his control. Minors don’t have much power. They rely on adults for quite a long time to provide food, shelter, and protection from danger. This reliance makes them more vulnerable than other groups.

That is why along with basic human rights, children have their own special rights: children's rights. Children’s rights are outlined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the United Nations in 1989. So what are these rights? Children have the right to survival, to life, health, a name, and a nationality. Children have the right to get an education and care from the people who love them.

These are covered under the right to development. Children have the right to protection from exploitation, abuse, and neglect by anyone. Children also have the right to express and think for themselves and practice whatever religion they want. This is the right to participation. All these sound like good things, right?

Many countries agree. The Convention on the Rights of the Child was the most-signed human rights treaty in history. 194 countries — that’s nearly every country in the world! — has signed the treaty and committed to ensuring the protection and development of all children. And yet… Rafa’s situation is not unique. Hundreds of millions of children do not have their rights protected.

Why? Some governments don’t consider children’s rights as anything more than general “ideas” and as a result, don’t do anything to put them in place. A government may agree that all children have a right to education and healthcare. But if schools are not built and doctors are not trained, that becomes very difficult. So in many places, even when laws protecting children’s rights are put in place, they are not protected or enforced.

And that is why the law alone isn’t enough to protect children’s rights. Charities and organisations strive to hold different groups accountable to the law. The cooperation of parents and families, and all other people on a daily basis is necessary to ensure that children’s rights can continue to exist. This way, Rafa, Fatima, and all children around the world have the best chance to lead happy, healthy lives.