About Us
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the child has been signed and ratified by all 193 countries, only Somalia (with no functioning government) and the USA have not ratified the CRC in a formal and legally binding recognition of children's human rights. The Ariana-Leilani Children's International Foundation is dedicated to making the plight of all US children, including Ariana-Leilani, better by assuring they have the rights they deserve, and at least on par with those of children in the rest of the world. Also we educate and advocate for children's human rights world wide.
Convention on the Rights of the Child
UNICEF - Convention on the Rights of the Child - Human Rights ProvisionsHuman rights provisions
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© UNICEF/HQ99-0825/LeMoyne |
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Two children return home from school in Viet Nam, which is a State party
to most of the core human rights treaties |
Children and young people
have the same basic general human rights as adults and also specific
rights that recognise their special needs. Because the Convention on the
Rights of the Child (CRC) brings together rights articulated in other
international treaties there are many parallels between the Convention
and other treaties.
The five other core human
rights instruments are: the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR); the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights (ICESCR); the Convention against Torture and other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Torture
Convention); the International Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination (Race Discrimination Convention); and the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women (Women’s Convention). Among other rights found in the Convention
on the Rights of the Child and shared with one or more of these
instruments are:
- Non-discrimination (Article 2): All human rights instruments prohibit any
discrimination—distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference—in the
provision, protection and promotion of rights. In other words, everyone
has the human rights in these treaties, irrespective of their race, sex,
religion, national origin or any other trait. The Race Convention
wholly prohibits discrimination based on race, national origin or
ethnicity and outlines steps that governments must take to end it. The
Women’s Convention likewise calls for an end to discrimination, based on
sex, and outlines specific areas of life in which women must be treated
equally in order to eliminate discrimination;
- Right to life (Article 6): also found in Article 6 of the ICCPR;
- Right to freedom from torture or cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment (Article 37):
outlined for everyone in the Torture Convention and also included as
Article 7 of the ICCPR;
- Right of detained persons to be treated
with dignity (Article 37): Article 10 of the
ICCPR broadly states this right and the Convention on the Rights of the
Child specifies that children in this situation must be treated in a way
that takes their age into account;
- Right to freedom of thought, conscience
and religion (Article 14): found in Article 18
of the ICCPR;
- Right to freedom of opinion and of
expression (Article 13): found in Article 19
of the ICCPR;
- Right to adequate standard of living
(Article 27): found in article 11 of the
ICESCR;
- Right to health and health services
(Article 24): found in Article 12 of the
ICESCR; and
- Right to education (Article 28): found in Article 13 of the ICESCR.
Many Articles of both the ICCPR and the ICESCR call attention to the
special needs of families and children. These
include Article 24 of the ICCPR (calling for the protection of children
and registration at birth of their name and nationality) and Article 10
of the ICESCR (calling for specific attention, protection and assistance
to children).
These examples show that the Convention on the Rights
of the Child is founded on rights inherent to everyone, but that it also
builds on concerns for the specific needs and vulnerabilities of
children.
What individuals can do
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© UNICEF/HQ99-0311/Horner |
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Members of the Children's Movement for Peace, including Mayerly Shanchez
(centre), walk down the street with other children from the community
in Colombia. |
Individuals, alone or in
groups, can play a key role in their country’s ratification and
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its
Optional Protocols. You can work to raise awareness of the Convention on
the Rights of the Child and Optional Protocols in your community
through meetings and distribution of information. You can initiate or
join grassroots campaigns, mobilizing those in your community to promote
and protect children’s rights.
Individuals can
also help
by voicing their concerns about
children's rights to government leaders, the media and others in the
community. You can, and should, hold your national
and local leaders accountable for their obligations under international
treaties.
Parents and
children,
teachers and community members can all work to help children understand
and realize their rights. While individuals can
take responsibility for doing their part, they must put pressure on
governments to fulfil their obligations to pass laws and advance
policies centered on the best interests of the child.