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Legislative History of the Convention
on the Rights of the Child

Legislative History of the Convention In June 2007, the UN announced the publication ”Legislative History of the Convention on the Rights of the Child”, in 2 volumes and a CD. The covers of these volumes show a sample of children´s paintings from the Tree of Life collection.

Read more and view the drawings on the book cover here.

 

The Convention on the Rights of the Child

"It is the children who pay the highest price for our short-sighted economic policies, our political mistakes and our wars"

This observation was made by Eglantyne Jebb (1876-1928), the English Quaker and pacifist.

1919

In May of this year, Save the Children was founded by Eglantyne Jebb. For Ms. Jebb, it was a question of politics: children were the victims of politicians’ mistakes and, in her opinion, children were without rights. For that that reason, she felt that children ought to be granted basic human rights and this could only happen if policies were changed so that the interests of children were taken into consideration.

1920

In this year, The International Save the Children Alliance was founded. The Alliance included among others, Swedish Save the Children. The by-laws of the organisation were straightforward and expansive and created the basis for the very first declaration on the rights of the child.

1923

In this year, the Geneva Convention was approved by the International Save the Children Alliance at the union’s general assembly on 23 February 1923 in Geneva.

1924

In this year, the Geneva Convention on the Rights of the Child which included five fundamental principles was approved by the League of Nations in Geneva.

1959

this year, an enlarged declaration on the rights of the child - now presenting ten principles- was approved by the United Nations General Assembly in New York These two declarations on the rights of the child made up the basis for what was later to become the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This was initiated by the Polish government in conjunction with the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva.

1989

On 20 November of this year, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has become known as the Child’s Convention was approved by the United Nations General Assembly. This was an enormous step forward in terms of international thinking about children - as individuals with their own rights set out in international law.

 

This thinking can be described in the following way: The child is a human being entitled to his or her own human dignity The child is unique; the child is an individual possessing his or her own rights The rights of the child are universal Children have special needs, are vulnerable but have their own capabilities; the child needs support and protection

 

Adults shall allow children to participate in all decisions which concern them; the best interests of the child shall be the guiding principle. Adults shall respect that all children are equal and have the same rights and that no child should be discriminate against when resources are allocated.

It is the states parties to the Convention which have the responsibility for making a reality of the rights of the child. Political will is required in to achieve this goal.

This series of children’s illustrations, based on the concept of The Tree of Life, created by children all over the world, has contributed to reminding adults of their responsibilities; these children have imparted, through their writing and their illustrations, their experiences from their every day life and their dreams about the future.