A landmark treaty adopted 20 years ago has transformed the way the world views children but greater efforts are needed to ensure that their rights are protected and advanced, according to the United Nations human rights chief.

“Children are no longer regarded as the property of parents or the passive recipients of charity or goodwill, but as rights-holders,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay told a meeting of the Human Rights Council focusing on the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

“This conceptual shift also underscored States’ accountability in fulfilling their obligations towards children’s rights,” she added. “The Convention anchors these obligations to the principles of non-discrimination, the best interests of the child, children’s right to life, survival and development, and respect for the children’s right to express their views.”

She noted that over the past two decades, national mechanisms and practices have furthered children’s rights – now a feature of many school curricula – and awareness of them has never been higher.

In a further effort to promote children’s rights, a new multilingual, ‘edutainment’ website was launched today on the sidelines of the Council’s meeting aimed at raising awareness and generating knowledge about the Convention and the rights enshrined in it, as well as global environmental issues.

The site - www.CyberDodo.com - offers multimedia content, including 10 hours of cartoons, games and files, and is complemented by a book publication, or “Edupack,” available to schools and those without Internet access. It is currently available in English, Arabic, French and Spanish.

Ongoing concerns

In her speech to the Council, Ms. Pillay also said that despite the many positive developments, there was cause for concern in a number of areas, adding that many crimes against children continue to go unpunished.

According to the UN Children’s Fund, each year nearly 10 million children die from preventable causes before their fifth birthday.

The UN Study on Violence against Children reported that some 80 to 98 per cent of children suffer physical punishment in their homes, with a third or more experiencing severe physical punishment inflicted with implements.

The World Health Organisation estimated in 2002 that 150 million girls and 73 million boys under 18 experienced forced sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual violence. The latest data also shows that some 1.2 million children are trafficked worldwide every year.

In addition, as noted by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, young people pay a heavy price in situations of conflict, where they are victims of attacks against schools, and are abducted and forced to serve as combatants, sex slaves or servants. More than 250,000 children are estimated to have been recruited as soldiers.

The current global financial crisis is also taking a toll on children, undermining their survival, access to housing, health and education. “When crises strike, social spending in programmes protecting children is to be counted among the first casualties of budget adjustments,” said Ms. Pillay.

“It is also true that in times of hardship, absent specific and targeted programs to support their education, children may be forced to abandon school and join the workforce. In this situation they may become more vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking,” she noted.

“We must remain vigilant in order to confront emerging challenges and ensure that the spirit and letter of the Convention shape the responses and remedial measures of the international community,” she said.

Role of NHRIs

As one of the most vulnerable groups in society, national human rights institutions have a particular responsibility to monitor, promote and protect their rights, using the Convention on the Rights of the Child as their benchmark.

Examples of recent activities undertaken by APF member institutions to promote and protect children’s rights include:

Afghanistan
In collaboration with UNICEF and other UN agencies, Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission has set up a mechanism to monitor and report grave child rights violations in armed conflict. It also recently published a report on the General Situation of Children in Afghanistan.

India
The NHRC’s Report on Missing Children examines the issue in depth and offers a framework for the development of recommendations for government to help trace and restore missing children to their families or to agencies/support systems.

Maldives 
In December 2008 the HRCM launched a community awareness campaign against child abuse in partnership with government authorities and civil society, and has since released statements on specific cases of alleged abuse.

New Zealand

‘ Building Human Rights Communities in Education’ is an initiative of the Human Rights Commission and four partner agencies. It promotes a model where a child’s right to education is fully realised, learning is ensured, individuality and diversity are respected and where there is freedom from violence, bullying and harassment.