Childrens Rights Checklist

Summary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

Rights of the Child

You can get copies of this document (above) from UNICEF

  1. Applies to everyone under 18

    Children and young people have the right to:
  2. all these rights without discrimination, and protection against discrimination
  3. have their best interests given the most importance when adults make decisions about them
  4. have their rights made a reality by the government
  5. be given guidance by their parents and family
  6. life
  7. a name and nationality
  8. an identity, protected by the state
  9. live with their parents unless this is bad for them, and maintain contact if separated
  10. leave any country and go into their own country to be with their parents
  11. be protected from being kidnapped and taken out of the country
  12. say what they think and be listened to by adults when adults make decisions that affect them
  13. get information and express what they think, unless it is against other people’s rights
  14. think what they like and have what religion they want, with their parents’ guidance
  15. meet with others and join or set up clubs, unless it is against other people’s rights
  16. protection from interference with privacy, family, home and correspondence
  17. get information. Information on media such as radio, newspapers, books, TV, etc. should be useful to them and not harmful
  18. be brought up by their parents if possible, supported by the state
  19. protection from being hurt, violence, abuse and neglect
  20. special care and protection if they can’t live with their parents, taking into account their cultural background
  21. be adopted only in their best interests, with all necessary safeguards
  22. special protection and help if they are refugees
  23. special care and education to help disabled children develop and lead a full life
  24. the best health possible and to medical care
  25. have their placements checked regularly if they have to be looked after away from home
  26. help from the government if they are poor or in need.
  27. a good enough standard of living for them to develop properly
  28. education
  29. education which tries to develop their personality and abilities as much as possible and encourages them to respect other people’s rights and values
  30. use their own language and practise their own culture and religion
  31. play and free time
  32. protection from work that is bad for their health or education
  33. be protected from taking, making and selling dangerous drugs
  34. be protected from sexual abuse
  35. not be kidnapped or sold
  36. protection from any other kind of exploitation
  37. not be punished in a cruel way or tortured. Not to be put in prison with adults
  38. not be in an army or fight in a war before they are 15, and to protection if affected by war
  39. help if they have been hurt, neglected or badly treated
  40. help in defending themselves, and to have their age taken into account, if accused of breaking the law
  41. any rights in laws in their own country or internationally which give better rights than these.
  42. Everybody should know about the rights in this Convention, adults and children, and the government should tell people about them.

Articles 43-54 are about how governments and international organisations will work to give children their rights.

Next

Back

 

Hosted by Spired.com | Email a Youth Worker | 2006 Oxfordshire County Council Youth Support Service