Written by Muhammed Güney Aydemir
Many individuals exploit children for financial gain or subject them to physical abuse (Geraldine Van Bueren, 2009). In light of these pressing concerns, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child on November 20, 1989, effective September 2, 1990. This pivotal agreement has been ratified by 196 countries, signifying an international commitment to protecting and promoting children's rights (Eric V. Edmonds, 2005). Addressing these issues is vital for ensuring that all children are afforded a safe and nurturing environment, thereby allowing them to realize their full potential.
UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) publishes annual reports on measures taken worldwide to protect children's rights, education, health, and welfare. Therefore, this article is written on their site:
“All children have all these rights, no matter who they are, where they live, what language they speak, what their religion is, what they think, what they look like, if they are a boy or girl, if they have a disability, if they are rich or poor, and no matter who their parents or families are or what their parents or families believe or do. No child should be treated unfairly for any reason”. It describes the main purpose of UNICEF (R., Bissell, 2009).
Image 1: Countries that have joined the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Wikipedia, 2024
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is an international treaty developed specifically for children. It is the most widely ratified human rights treaty in the world, an agreement between all countries that have signed it. Children also have all the rights in other international human rights treaties, but the UNCRC only includes additional rights that children need due to their age and development.
Use of Children As Soldiers
In a lot of countries, armed groups use the children forced for conflicts. According to UNICEF, thousands of children are recruited and used in armed conflicts across the world. Between 2005 and 2022, more than 105,000 children were verified as recruited and used by parties to the conflict, although the actual number of cases is believed to be much higher. Here are some of the countries that use child soldiers: Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen Save the Children, (UNICEF., 2009).
Early Marriage
Child marriage is any formal marriage or informal union between a child under 18 and an adult or child. According to UNICEF, despite a steady decline in this harmful practice over the past decade, child marriage remains widespread, with approximately one in five girls married in childhood across the globe. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals call for global action to end child marriage by 2030 (United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (Umaru, S., 2019)
Child Labor
Child labor is defined as work that negatively affects the mental and physical development of children, takes their right to education, and generally does work in dangerous or abusive conditions. The International Labor Organization (ILO) classifies child labor as an activity threatening children’s health safety and moral development. As of 2024, approximately 190 million children (5-17 years old) are working worldwide. Approximately 79 million of these are doing dangerous labor. Most of these are in Africa (Qizi, R. S. S., T. S.,2024)
This graph shows the rates of children being used as soldiers (UNICEF, 2018)
Conclusion
According to the majority of people, the biggest reason for violating children’s rights is unserious treaty articles and the absence of severe sanctions in the agreements. According to UNICEF, child labor, in many countries, serious violations such as child labor, early marriage, and denial of the right to education continue (Milkaite, I., & Lievens, E., 2019). In this context, sanctions can be strengthened to find a solution. Military order can be strengthened to prevent children from being employed as soldiers or workers, which is one of these problems. In addition, the number of schools providing labor training can be increased to train great workers against child labor. In this context, some countries are taking similar solutions (Unicef., 1989).
References:
1. Geraldine Van Bueren., (2005), The Impact of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
2. Eric V. Edmonds., (2009), Child Labor and Its Determinants: A Cross-Country Analysis
3. R., Bissell., (2009). Promotion of children's rights and prevention of child maltreatment. The Lancet, 373(9660), 332-343.
4. UNICEF. (2009). State of the World's Children: Celebrating 20 Years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Unicef.
5. Umaru, S. (2019). The role of the UN in the protection of children's rights.
6. Qizi, R. S. S., Shukhratovna, T. S., & Karamatovna, M. A. (2024). Implementation of Education and Protection of Children's Rights in the Age of Technology. SPAST Reports, 1(7).
7. Milkaite, I., & Lievens, E. (2019). Children’s rights to privacy and data protection around the world: challenges in the digital realm. European Journal of Law and Technology, 10(1).
8.Unicef. (1989). Convention on the Rights of the Child.
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