The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

In 1989, world leaders decided that children needed a special convention just for them because people under 18 years old often need special care and protection that adults do not. The leaders also wanted to make sure that the world recognized that children have human rights too. The Convention on the Rights of the Child is legally binding. By signing up to it, national governments have committed themselves to protecting children's rights.

The Convention sets out these rights in 54 articles and two Optional Protocols. It spells out the basic human rights that children everywhere have: the right to survival; to develop to the fullest; to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life. The four core principles of the Convention are non-discrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child.

Every right spelled out in the Convention is equally important. The Convention protects children's rights by setting standards in health care; education; and legal, civil and social services.

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Download a copy of the Convention (youth-friendly version)

Download a copy of the Convention (full text)

Optional protocols
Since the Convention was written, there have been two extra bits added, called Optional Protocols. These were adopted by the UN General Assembly on 25 May 2000. Governments can decide whether or not to sign up for these rules.

The first Optional Protocol raises the minimum age that people can get directly involved in wars from 15 to 18. It says that the minimum age limit for fighting in wars should be 18 even if young people have joined the army voluntarily.

The UK has signed up to this Optional Protocol, but said that it would still send soldiers under the age of 18 into war zones under certain conditions, such as when there is what they call a "genuine military need to deploy their unit or ship to an area in which hostilities are taking place."

They also said that under-18s may be sent into battles if excluding them would stop their ship or unit from doing its job effectively, or risk the success or a mission or the safety of other soldiers. The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers and other children's rights groups say that these statements mean that the UK is not fully delivering the promises it made when it signed up to the Optional Protocol.

The second Optional Protocol bans the sale of children, child pornography and child prostitution. It says the government must give help to any children who have been exploited in these ways, and must make sure that the people who harmed them are brought to justice.

The UK has made progress in this area, and it's now illegal to "traffick" children. Now UNICEF is calling on the government to do more to protect the victims of trafficking, making sure they get counselling, safe houses and education. It wants the government to sign up to the new European Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings.