World Children’s Day 2019: Convention on the Rights of the Child

World Children's Day was first celebrated in 1954 as Universal Children's day and is now celebrated on November 20 with an aim to promote awareness among people, promote togetherness and improving their welfare on an international level. Since 1990, World Children's day also marked the date when the United Nations adopted both the Declaration of Child Rights in 1959 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. Also, this year's celebration is a special occasion as it marks the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Convention on Rights of the Child

The convention on the Rights of the Child was conceptualised in 1989 and quickly became the most widely ratified human rights treaty, helping transform the lives of children all over the world. The international legal framework focused on protecting the rights of children and was based on the idea that no child will be treated or is an object to their parents and other adult human beings. 
The Convention's framework also stated that a child is completely different from an adult till the time he/she do not attain 18 years of age but until then they should be given the freedom to play, grow, learn with a sense of dignity. After the implementation of the Convention, many world leaders changed laws and certain policies to safeguard the rights of children and provide a safe environment for them to be protected from any kind of violence and exploitation.

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Slow progress

Even after years of progress in uplifting and protecting the rights of children, the objectives of the convention have not been implemented or known to a lot of people and a lot of children continue to be deprived of proper medical facilities, education and food. Children continue to be forced to leave school and the confines of their homes to work in hazardous conditions fight wars or beg for people running rackets.

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Now up to present generation

The only reason that the Convention on the Rights of the Child came into existence was because of the hope, vision and commitment of world leaders to make the world a better place for children and is now up to the present generation to ask the world leaders to uphold the framework of the most widely ratified human rights treaty in order to eradicate direct human rights violations against children.

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(With inputs from agencies)