The detrimental effects of fast-fashion on children’s rights

Posted on Posted in Children's Rights, Environment, Exploitation, Labour, Poverty

At first glance, one might struggle to see the link between fast-fashion and children’s rights. However, the fashion industry is not ‘just’ about clothes. On the one hand, it heavily relies on child labor, violating children’s right to education, freedom and protection. On the other, it bears the human, health and social cost of being […]

Afghan children’s rights under serious threat under the Taliban regime

Posted on Posted in Children's Rights, Exploitation, Freedom, Human Rights, Poverty, refugees, violence

With the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban launched an offensive on multiple fronts to reconquer territory across the country. The Afghan army was overrun, continually losing ground, until on 15 August 2021, the Taliban conquered Kabul without significant effort. The president of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, formerly given military support from the United […]

Protecting children’s rights in global supply chains

Posted on Posted in Children's Rights, Exploitation, Labour

“From pesticide poisoning in Brazil to child exploitation in Tanzania’s gold mines, children’s rights are violated at the bottom of global supply chains” Maike Röttger, National Director of Plan International Germany – Maike Röttger, National Director of Plan International While globalization has brought new opportunities and benefits to economies and people around the globe, it […]

Global rise in child labor – a continuing threat to children’s rights

Posted on Posted in Children's Rights, Exploitation, Labour

The pandemic has had awful economical and health consequences throughout the world. But for those living in lower-income countries, the rise of child labor has become a pertinent issue. Child labor is rampant, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Children’s Fund (UNICEF) tell us. In a June 2021 report, ILO and UNICEF published […]

COVID-19 and conflict-related sexual violence against children

Posted on Posted in Children's Rights, Exploitation, violence

In occasion of the 7th official observance of the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Virginia Gamba addressed the issue of conflict-related sexual violence against children within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the worrisome situation of children born of […]

Hungary’s new anti-LGBTQI+ law: deterioration of the spirit of understanding, peace and tolerance

Posted on Posted in Children's Rights, Exploitation, Freedom, Human Rights, LGBTQ+ Rights

On 15 June 2021, the Hungarian government passed a new law that was quickly followed by international outrage. The law, originally drafted to further criminalise paedophilia, could have severe consequences on the rights of LGBTQI+ children. However, the Hungarian government has insisted that the law was passed to protect the children and their rights. What […]

UNCRC landmark adoption of the General Comment on children’s rights in the digital environment

Posted on Posted in Children's Rights, Empowerment, Exploitation

On 24 March 2021, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child officially launched their new General Comment No. 25 on Children’s rights in relation to the digital environment. The adoption of this General Comment signals the first time that children’s digital experiences are mentioned within the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) […]

International child abduction – conflict of parents and laws detrimental to children

Posted on Posted in Children's Rights, Empowerment, Exploitation, Freedom, Human Rights

In the past few years, the number of cases involving international child abduction has risen significantly. International child abduction is, unfortunately, becoming a common trend which usually occurs during a heated or emotional marital dispute, in the early stages of separation or divorce, or in the waiting period of a court custody order or agreement. […]

The influence of emotional artificial intelligence and digital toys on child development

Posted on Posted in Children's Rights, Education, Exploitation

Children’s play-spaces are increasingly permeated by modern technologies. As the world transitions into the digital age, children are more frequently exposed to digital toys. In particular, recent years have seen the rise of emotional artificial intelligence (AI) toys; items which collect data from children and adapt their functionality accordingly. Though this development is not without […]

The impact of Covid-19 on child labour in cobalt mines in the DRC

Posted on Posted in Children's Rights, Exploitation, Freedom, Health, Labour

Last year, after schools and businesses closed during the lockdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, remote working and learning via video-conferencing were increasingly relied on, even becoming the main means of communication. As a result there was a 26% hike in sales of electronic devices such as smartphones, computers and tablets. The health crisis was […]