Declaration of the Rights of the Child
Encyclopedia
The Declaration of the Rights of the Child is the name given to a series of related children's rights
proclamations drafted by Save the Children
founder Eglantyne Jebb
in 1923.
Jebb believed that the rights of a child should be especially protected and enforced, thus drafting the first stipulations for child's rights.
Jebb's initial 1923 document consisted of the following criteria:
These ideas were adopted by the International Save the Children Union
, in Geneva
, on 23 February 1923 and endorsed by the League of Nations
General Assembly on 26 November 1924 as the World Child Welfare Charter. However, these proclamations were not enforceable by international law, but rather only guidelines for countries to follow
The original document, in the archives of the city of Geneva, carries the signatures of various international delegates, including Jebb, Janusz Korczak
, and Gustave Ador
, a former President of the Swiss Confederation.
The SCIU
merged into the International Union of Child Welfare by 1946, and this group pressed the newly formed United Nations to continue to work for war-scarred children and for adoption of the World Child Welfare Charter.
On 20 November 1989 the United Nations General Assembly
adopted a much expanded version as its own Declaration of the Rights of the Child during the Convention on the Rights of the Child
, adding ten principles in place of the original five. This date has been adopted as the Universal Children's Day.
On September 2, 1990 it became international law. The Convention consists of 54 articles that address the basic human rights children everywhere are entitled too: 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.
Under the Convention, a child is defined as "... every human being below the age of eighteen years unless, under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier."
Children's rights
Children's rights are the human rights of children with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to the young, including their right to association with both biological parents, human identity as well as the basic needs for food, universal state-paid education,...
proclamations drafted by Save the Children
Save the Children
Save the Children is an internationally active non-governmental organization that enforces children's rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries...
founder Eglantyne Jebb
Eglantyne Jebb
Eglantyne Jebb was a British social reformer.- Early life :She was born in 1876 in Ellesmere, Shropshire, and grew up on her family's estate. The Jebbs were a well-off family and had a strong social conscience and commitment to public service...
in 1923.
Jebb believed that the rights of a child should be especially protected and enforced, thus drafting the first stipulations for child's rights.
Jebb's initial 1923 document consisted of the following criteria:
- The child must be given the means requisite for its normal development, both materially and spiritually.
- The child that is hungry must be fed, the child that is sick must be nursed, the child that is backward must be helped, the delinquent child must be reclaimed, and the orphan and the waif must be sheltered and succored.
- The child must be the first to receive relief in times of distress.
- The child must be put in a position to earn a livelihood, and must be protected against every form of exploitation.
- The child must be brought up in the consciousness that its talents must be devoted to the service of its fellow men.
These ideas were adopted by the International Save the Children Union
International Save the Children Union
The International Save the Children Union was a Geneva-based international organisation of children's welfare organisations founded in 1920 by Eglantyne Jebb and her sister Dorothy Buxton, who had earlier founded Save the Children in the UK...
, in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, on 23 February 1923 and endorsed by the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
General Assembly on 26 November 1924 as the World Child Welfare Charter. However, these proclamations were not enforceable by international law, but rather only guidelines for countries to follow
The original document, in the archives of the city of Geneva, carries the signatures of various international delegates, including Jebb, Janusz Korczak
Janusz Korczak
Janusz Korczak, the pen name of Henryk Goldszmit was a Polish-Jewish children's author, and pediatrician known as Pan Doktor or Stary Doktor...
, and Gustave Ador
Gustave Ador
Gustave Ador was a Swiss politician.He was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on June 26, 1917 and handed over office on December 31, 1919...
, a former President of the Swiss Confederation.
The SCIU
International Save the Children Union
The International Save the Children Union was a Geneva-based international organisation of children's welfare organisations founded in 1920 by Eglantyne Jebb and her sister Dorothy Buxton, who had earlier founded Save the Children in the UK...
merged into the International Union of Child Welfare by 1946, and this group pressed the newly formed United Nations to continue to work for war-scarred children and for adoption of the World Child Welfare Charter.
On 20 November 1989 the United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
adopted a much expanded version as its own Declaration of the Rights of the Child during the Convention on the Rights of the Child
Convention on the Rights of the Child
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a human rights treaty setting out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children...
, adding ten principles in place of the original five. This date has been adopted as the Universal Children's Day.
On September 2, 1990 it became international law. The Convention consists of 54 articles that address the basic human rights children everywhere are entitled too: 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.
Under the Convention, a child is defined as "... every human being below the age of eighteen years unless, under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier."
See also
- Save the ChildrenSave the ChildrenSave the Children is an internationally active non-governmental organization that enforces children's rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries...
- Convention on the Rights of the ChildConvention on the Rights of the ChildThe United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a human rights treaty setting out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children...
- Eglantyne JebbEglantyne JebbEglantyne Jebb was a British social reformer.- Early life :She was born in 1876 in Ellesmere, Shropshire, and grew up on her family's estate. The Jebbs were a well-off family and had a strong social conscience and commitment to public service...
- Lady BlomfieldLady BlomfieldLady Sara Louisa Blomfield was a distinguished early member of the Bahá'í Faith in the British Isles, and a supporter of the rights of children and women....
- Timeline of young people's rights in the United Kingdom