20th Birthday of the UN Convention on Child Rights

Two decades after a set of rights to promote and protect children’s rights were established, many children are still waiting for something to celebrate.

Friday 20 November 2009

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a legally-binding international agreement setting out the rights of every child, such as their right to life and to an education, regardless of their race, religion or abilities. The convention serves as a ‘compass’ which guides our work around the world.

It was Save the Children's founder, Eglantyne Jebb, who championed the revolutionary idea of children's rights 90 years ago. Her work led, several decades later, to the convention.

Moussa with his surviving daughter. Her twin sister, Umniya, died from diarrhoea and fever two weeks after she was born. Millions of children die every year from preventable illnesses, denied their right to life.

20th Birthday celebrations

We’re celebrating in nearly 60 countries. Here are some highlights:

In Nepal, we’re holding a rock concert, Rights Rock, with the country’s top bands.
In Norway, we’re holding the first-ever Eglantyne Jebb award for an individual’s contribution to children’s rights.
In Palestine we’re hosting a conference organised by children which will focus on how their rights can be better protected in the country.
In the UK, we developed a play based on children’s testimonies staged to a packed audience in London.

Our call for change

Despite the celebrations, there’s far more work to be done. We’re calling for a recommitment to child rights, and for children to have effective remedies when their rights are violated.

We’re supporting the development of a third optional protocol to the Convention, a communications procedure that would allow children and their advocates to appeal when domestic or regional remedies fail or simply do not exist.We also want the Convention to be used as a legal instrument in courts.

Despite the "anxiety about the state of children in Britain", the private member's bill being put forward to incorporate the CRC into UK law, stands “next to no chance of getting through,” according to Jasmine Whitbread, Save the Children UK's Chief Executive. Read Jasmine’s blog in the Guardian.