The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is an international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children.
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, promising all children the same rights, was adopted by governments worldwide in 1989. It is the most complete statement of children’s rights ever produced and it came into force in the UK on 15 January 1992.
The Convention states that every child has:
- The right to a childhood (including protection from harm)
- The right to be educated (including all girls and boys completing primary school)
- The right to be healthy (including having clean water, nutritious food and medical care)
- The right to be treated fairly (including changing laws and practices that are unfair on children)
- The right to be heard (including considering children's views)
It's the most complete statement of children’s rights ever produced and is the most widely-ratified international human rights treaty in history.
The UK signed it on 19 April 1990 and it came into force in the UK on 15 January 1992.
UNICEF is the world's leading organisation for children, working in over 190 countries.
Their work is based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and they do whatever it takes to make a lasting difference to children's lives giving priority to the most disadvantaged children.
More information on their work and how you can help is available at this link.
Comprehensive information on the rights of young people can be found at the following links::
See also the My Advice Gateway page Advice for Children and Young People.
Child Abuse
The NSPCC is dedicated to ending cruelty to children in the UK and campaign to change the law, provide the NSPCC helpline service and offer advice for adults and parents.
ChildLine is the UK's free 24 hour confidential counselling service for children and young people up to their 19th birthday provided by the NSPCC.
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) are part of UK policing and are dedicated to eradicating the sexual abuse of children.
Thinkuknow is the CEOP's website on internet safety and safe surfing for young people when using blogs, chatting, online gaming, P2P and webcams.
Further information on Child Abuse can be found on the My Advice Gateway page Child Abuse.
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