{"id":30301,"date":"2019-10-29T17:43:27","date_gmt":"2019-10-29T17:43:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/?p=30301"},"modified":"2025-12-13T20:44:59","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T20:44:59","slug":"the-30th-anniversary-of-the-un-convention-on-the-rights-of-the-child","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/the-30th-anniversary-of-the-un-convention-on-the-rights-of-the-child\/","title":{"rendered":"The 30th Anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

History of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (hereinafter UNCRC) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on the 20 November 1989 and is widely acclaimed as a landmark achievement for human rights, recognizing the roles of children as social, economic, health, political, civil and cultural actors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Convention guarantees and sets minimum standards for protecting the rights of children. Since the UNCRC has 196 state parties which have ratified the Convention, it aims to improve children\u2019s rights and acknowledge children as equal rights holders rather than passive subjects.\u00a0(Moura, 2019)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Importance of the UNCRC<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Thirty years after its adoption, the UNCRC is almost\nuniversally ratified\nsince every UN member\nState has ratified the Treaty, apart from the United States who is a signatory.\nThis makes it the most ratified UN Treaty. However, many States still have\nnumerous reservations to some of the UNCRC articles and its Optional Protocols\nare still far from universal ratification, especially the Optional Protocol on\na Communications Procedure (OPIC) which entered into force in April 2014 and currently\nhas 42 State parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The 30th anniversary of the UNCRC is a\nunique opportunity to put children\u2019s rights, the Convention along with its\nOptional Protocols and its relevance for global peaceful development and\nco-existence high on the international agenda, to assess the status of child\nrights and take measures to strengthen awareness, understanding and the actual\nrealisation of children\u2019s rights worldwide. (Childs Right Connect , 2019)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The year 2019 marks the 5th anniversary of entry into\nforce of the OPIC; this third Optional Protocol to the\nUNCRC is the first international complaints procedure giving children the\npossibility to claim their rights on an international level. It is an important\ncomplement to the UNCRC to strengthen the status of children as rights holders,\nto ensure that children can seek redress if their rights are violated and\nbroadening their possibility to be heard at international level. (Child Rights Connect, 2019) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Landmark petition <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Sixteen child petitioners, including Greta Thunberg and Alexandria Villase\u00f1or, from 12 countries around the world presented a landmark official complaint to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child to protest lack of government action on the climate crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The child petitioners aged between 8\nand 17 claim that Member States\u2019 failure to tackle the climate crisis\nconstitutes a violation of child rights. They urge the independent body to\norder the Member States to take action to protect children from the devastating\nimpacts of climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The complaint was filed through the\nThird Optional Protocol to the UNCRC as a voluntary mechanism which allows\nchildren or adults on their behalf to appeal directly to the United Nations for\nhelp if a country that has ratified the Protocol fails to provide a remedy for\na rights violation. (UNICEF, 2019) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is proof of the success of the\nUNCRC and its Optional Protocols by providing children an opportunity for their voices to be heard. This\nempowers children and makes them equals to adults. Furthermore it shows that\nchildren are becoming more aware of their rights and the legal avenues to voice\ntheir concerns. This is only the beginning! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving Forward <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This anniversary creates a momentum\nfor the international community to step up its efforts to make children thrive,\nand to renew their commitment to protect and promote all their human rights.\nWhile notable progress has been achieved in the past three decades, significant\nchallenges remain, in particular for girls, children with disabilities and\nchildren in disadvantaged and vulnerable situations. (OHCHR, 2019)\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past 30 years, children\u2019s lives have been transformed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n