"Where are the rights you promised us?"

‘Where are the rights you promised us?’ ask children in report marking 25 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 

• 25 children from around the world provide a unique insight into the challenges they face in a World Vision report launched in the lead-up to the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child 
   
• The report also calls for child rights to be a priority in post-2015 development targets

A quarter century since the Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted, a glaring gap remains between the Convention’s promises and the reality for millions of children, says international development agency World Vision. This perspective is echoed by children in a new report, Writing for Rights, published this week by World Vision in the lead-up to today’s Convention’s 25th anniversary.

“As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, my message to our government is to thank them for their efforts to improve education. But most important, to alert them to the reality of the poorest children in the most remote villages, and the need to ensure they have equal access and opportunities as the more privileged children in cities,” writes 16-year-old Alice from Sierra Leone. 

“Basic health rights are still violated in Haiti: only 40 per cent of children in my country have access to health services. The heath centre closest to my home is located tens of kilometres away. You cannot get there if you do not have any money,” writes 16-year-old Julien.

Mau’men, a 14-year-old Syrian refugee in Lebanon, describes the insecurity he faces on a daily basis: “The conflict has caused psychological problems and made <Syrian children> introverts, destroyed their feelings and ruined their childhood. They were deprived of many of their rights, mainly the right to study and the right to play,” says Mau’men.

World Vision’s Director of Advocacy, Charles Badenoch, explains: “As we commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Convention, it’s time for us to listen. Children are experts on their own lives. They have unique knowledge about their needs. Decisions informed by children’s perspectives will be more relevant, effective and sustainable.”

According to World Vision, the 25th anniversary of the Convention serves an opportunity remind world leaders that children’s rights should be a priority within the post-2015 development framework, because healthy, cared for and educated children become productive adults and contribute to healthy, peaceful and productive societies.

“The success of ‘post-2015’ targets that replace the Millennium Development Goals must be measured by their ability to reach the poorest and most vulnerable children in the hardest places to live,” says Badenoch.

World Vision is also urging all governments to make the Convention stronger and more accountable by ratifying a new UN treaty called the third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This protocol gives children the ability to report particular instances of rights violations directly to the UN. The UN will investigate their claim and can direct the child’s government to take action.  

Background

The Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted on 20 November 1989, outlines the universal standards of care for all people under the age of 18. It is the most widely endorsed human rights treaty in history, with 194 countries signed on. 

Download full report here