1. What is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child?
  2. Articles of the UNCRC by Subject
  3. Canada’s Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

What is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child?

A drawing by Laura, age 6

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child represents for me a major and highly desirable change in the way in which the world regards children. At least at the rhetorical level there is now an international consensus that children are persons, holders of human rights, worthy of respect and love. The challenge for all of us is much greater than embodying the Convention in our laws and policies; we must also restructure individual attitudes to encompass it so the Convention guides our every action with respect to children and youth.

– Landon Pearson

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (View larger image)

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is an international human rights instrument that recognizes the fundamental human rights — civil, economic, political, and cultural rights — of every person under 18. As of January 2020, 196 Member States have signed and ratified the Convention except for the United States. In so doing, these countries have pledged that they will harmonize national law with the principles of the Convention, and undertake to ensure that children can enjoy the rights laid out in its terms. Canada has taken a leadership role in promoting the rights of children, both domestically and abroad.  I have also posted a copy of a child-friendly edition of the Convention written by a youth committee of the Canadian Coalition for the Rights of the Child.

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Convention on the Rights of the Child

States Parties undertake to make the principles and provisions of the Convention widely known, by appropriate and active means, to adults and children alike. (Article 42)

  1. What is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)?
  2. Why is the UNCRC unique?
  3. What is the difference between a convention and a declaration?
  4. When Canada ratified the UNCRC, to what did it commit itself?
  5. Do the rights of the child threaten families? (On the contrary!)

Articles of the UNCRC by Subject

Partnership
General measures of implementation  4, 42, 44

Survival & Development
Basic health and welfare 6,18, 23, 24, 26
Education, leisure and cultural activities  28, 29, 31

Protection
Children in situations of emergency 22, 38, 39
Children in exploitation 32, 33, 34, 35, 36
Children in conflict with the law  37, 39, 40
Family environment and alternative care  3, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 27
Children in minorities and indigenous children  30

Participation
Civil rights and freedoms 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 37, 42

Promotion
General measures of implementation  42, 44


Canada’s Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

Youth delegates United Nations special session on children, 2002