The right to live free from violence
Recalling the protective past and present of children's rights
A very short post today, for myriad reasons. Like, share, comment, and/or subscribe for more, if you’re so inclined.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (child-friendly PDF) is not the first international instrument to set out children’s rights, though it is the most comprehensive. Before the 1989 Convention, there was the 1924 Geneva Declaration and the 1959 Declaration on the Rights of the Child. Both the 1924 and 1959 documents were drafted in the aftermath of world wars, with the protection of children at heart.
With expanding hostilities in Ukraine and ongoing hostilities elsewhere, I figure I’d take a moment to remind folks what all nations in the world (except the United States) signed up for when they signed and ratified the Convention.
Article 19 requires states to protect children from all forms of violence, injury, abuse, neglect, maltreatment, and exploitation.
Article 38 requires states to respect international humanitarian law during armed conflict. Specifically, paragraph 4 states:
In accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect the civilian population in armed conflicts, States Parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure protection and care of children who are affected by an armed conflict.
Article 39 requires states to promote physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of children who have experienced armed conflict and other forms of trauma.
Given the interrelated and interconnected nature of rights, these obligations must all be met by taking into account children’s best interests (Article 3) as well as children’s right to life, survival and development (Article 6). And these obligations lie on states regardless of their status in the armed conflict. Not to mention state obligations under all the other laws of armed conflict, which I won’t get into because they’re not my wheelhouse.
All that to say, any armed conflict is a children’s rights issue.
If you’d like to help children whose rights are being violated in the midst of war, consider making a donation to an organization that provides humanitarian and other support to children, like UNICEF or Save the Children. You can also check out the fundraiser set up by former Ontario Child Advocate Irwin Elman to support Ukraine’s Child Ombudsman. And there’s also always War Child for other communities facing armed conflict. If you’ve got more suggestions, drop them in the comments.