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Celebrating 25 years of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child |
The welcome and perhaps long-overdue
arrival of the
United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) 25 years ago gave us all
the definitive text to anchor our work towards protecting children’s rights.
The under-18s in 1989 could welcome the fact that their rights were finally
spelled out in a single document; a treaty that was gratifyingly speedily
adopted by almost all nations. The UNCRC is one of the most complete
international human rights instruments that exist and clearly positions
children as rights holders with a full set of political, social and cultural
human rights. For all those working with and for children we can say that we have come a long way, have achieved much, yet still seemingly have a long way to go. The UNCRC demands from states globally that children are afforded protection from violence and it also expects that childrens’ best interests are taken into account. To pay tribute to the challenges
overcome and to underline the challenges that remain, the Council of Europe
dedicates this week to the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the
UNCRC.
See here for further details. 1. Child-friendly services and systems: The Council of Europe has aimed its
efforts towards securing the rights of children in care by
educating
children about their rights as set forth in the UNCRC. This has been
achieved by standard setting through
Recommendations as well as by providing
guidance to professionals working with children in care.
The Council of Europe aims to
implement child-friendly justice and to improve children’s access to
justice. In 2010 the Council of Europe consulted with children and gathered
their views on justice systems. This
led to the adoption of
Guidelines on child friendly justice that are
intended for use by professionals working in the criminal, civil or
administrative justice systems.
As enshrined in Article 19 of the
UNCRC all children shall be guaranteed protection from all forms of physical
or mental violence. Violence against children can, for
instance, take
the form of bullying, violence in schools, sexual violence or corporal
punishment. The Council of Europefights to end all forms of violence against children by adopting Conventions,
standard setting through Recommendations and by raising awareness through
the initiation of campaigns. Bullying Corporal punishment Corporal punishment is the most widespread form of violence against children. The Council of Europe is challenging corporal punishment by campaigning for its abolition and by actively promoting positive parenting. Thus far 26 member states have introduced a full prohibition of corporal punishment in all settings. See the campaign against corporal punishment: Raise your hand against smacking !
Available data suggests that about
one in five children in Europe are victims of some form of sexual violence.
The Council of Europe has taken action to fight for enhanced protection of
children against sexual violence by creating the
Lanzarote Convention on the
protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. Thus far 34 member states have ratified the Convention.
The right of children to participate
in all matters which concern them is guaranteed in Article 12 of the UNCRC.
The Council of Europe believes that all citizens have the right to
participate in the workings of democratic society and that children are no
exception! In 2014 the Council of Europe created the
Child Participation Assessment Tool which is intended to measure
progress in promoting the rights of children to be heard. |