Eglantyne Jebb, Children’s Rights Pioneer

Context of her commitment

Despite the chaos caused by the four years of conflict, the end of the First World War led to a new consciousness of the need for international cooperation in the protection of children. Thus, nations who used to be rivals united to give this project a universal and consensual dimension. Eglantyne Jebb, the instigator and pioneer of this movement, described it in these terms: “international aid to children, which is in the interest of all, is also a way to help people apart to take a common action and, on a ground acceptable to all, a chance to learn again how to work together”. 

Portrait of a child protection militant

At the time, Eglantyne Jebb stood out for her activism for children’s rights. After her degree from Oxford and a brief teaching carrier, she became involved in social work as part of the Cambridge’s Charity Organisation Society. With an influential social and family network in internationalist circles, she became involved in the International Save the Children Union (UISE), which was established in Geneva by the Save the Children Fund ̶ of which she is the founder ̶ and the International Save the Children Committee under the patronage of the Red Cross. Her lobbying for childhood led to a significant extension of the powers of international organizations on this issue.

The culmination of a lifetime fight, the Declaration of Geneva

In 1923, the International Save the Children Union published the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. The Declaration received significant media coverage which led the League of Nations to adopt it in 1924 as the “Declaration of Geneva”. This text, voluntarily written in an impartial way, aims to unite as many nations as possible. It was the first document to give universal recognition to the specific rights of children. A Childhood Protection Committee was constituted to translate the principles into action. NGOs became the key players in achieving the stated objectives. Thanks to the modern organization she set up, Eglantyne Jebb allowed an internationalization of the idea of children’s rights. Her efforts, and the work of her association, Save the Children Fund, were in the vanguard of the ideals of international cooperation, which they spread and advanced. Today they affect the lives of more than 125 million children throughout the world.