The UK Government is obliged to do everything possible to ensure children's rights are realised throughout the UK.
UNICEF UK/UNICEF 2008/Diane Male
Twenty years have gone by since children and young people all over the world had their rights spelled out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - and you can celebrate by spreading the word!
The Convention's main purpose is to ensure that children's needs are met so that ALL children and young people of the world have the best possible start in life.
Read a copy of the Convention.
Email your MP!
A staggering one in three children in the UK live in poverty, despite it being the fifth richest country in the world. Show your support for the campaign to end child poverty by sending an online message through Tagd to your MP requesting him/her to write to the Chancellor asking him to prioritise the needs of children living in poverty.
Happy birthday CRC!
The CRC was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 20 November 1989. Join in our celebrations and help spread the word about children's rights by inviting your MP to your school to talk about rights, or go to your MP's surgery to discuss these issues in person. Alternatively, tell your friends about their rights - if we don't know what our rights are, how can we make sure they're being fulfilled?
The Convention on the Rights of the Child turns 20 in November 2009.
We have created two downloadable packs with ideas for actions you can take and some templates you can use to make sure children's rights are celebrated! Under the CRC the Government has a duty to listen to children and young people. Use this opportunity to tell them what matters to you and how important the Convention on the Rights of the Child is!
The packs have been created for young people and for use in schools, so you can adapt them depending on whether you are taking action as an individual or as a group of young people taking part with your school.
- Download the CRC@20_Pack which has everything you need to arrange a meeting with your MP on 20 November.
- Download the Peer Education pack for loads of ideas on activities you can do to spread the word about rights!
Fast facts
Can't wait to get started? Here are some handy facts about the CRC which you could use to organize a quiz night in your area and fundraise for your chosen cause.
- There are 54 articles in the Convention
- The UK government signed the CRC in 1990 and made a commitment to realise children's rights in the UK.
- Each government that has signed up to the CRC must report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva every five years to state its progress in making the Convention a reality in that country.
- The Committee is a UN treaty monitoring body. It examines each country's report and also looks at evidence from other bodies such as the Children's Commissioner's office. The Committee then makes recommendations to the Government for ways it can move forward to improve child rights in its country.
- Last year the Committee made over 100 observations and recommendations to the UK Government and, whilst it praised the progress that had been made, it pointed out that there is still much to be done, particularly on issues such as child poverty.
-
Article 12 states that children and young people should be listened to and their views taken into account. UNICEF UK runs the Rights Respecting School Award which puts the CRC at the heart of a school.
- The Convention on the Rights of the Child is currently the most widely ratified international human rights treaty - all UN member states except for the United States and Somalia have ratified (signed up to) the Convention.
- Articles 43 to 54 are about how adults and governments should work together to make sure all children get all their rights.
If a quiz night's not your bag, then there are tons of other things you can do to raise funds for UNICEF, from doing odd-jobs for your neighbours to organising your own mini Soccer Aid! Check out our fundraising section to help you get started.
Once you've brought in the cash, why not use it to buy an Inspired Gift so you know exactly where you're money is going to? Or simply download our donation form, fill it in and send it to us, and we'll deliver it to whichever of our projects we think needs it most.