Throughout history, there have been several attempts to recognise and legalise the rights of a child around the world, and the 19th century was a turning point as it marked the start of child’s rights written in laws, policies, declarations to mention a few, also conventions were done regarding the rights of a child. Over time the mechanism put in place with regard to the rights of a child has metamorphosed, more rights and documents have been created to deal with issues that have risen at several points. With that in mind, this post looks at the history and development of the rights of a child since the 19th century. It is important to know that child rights are a subset of human rights with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to a minor, a person who is not yet 18 years.
With the recognition that every child has a right, to survive, to be protected, and to be educated. A committee was created in 1919 for the protection of children by the League of Nations, this led to the first international treaty on children’s rights which was adopted by the Geneva Declaration in 1925. The Geneva Declaration was drafted by Eglantyne Jebb, thus the first declaration of Child rights was written in 1923. It is important to note that Eglantyne Jebb was the founder of Save the children fund in 1919.
Another milestone in the development of the rights of a child is the establishment of the United Nations International Children Emergency Funds. (UNICEF) also called the United Nation children’s Fund in 1946. It was established by the United Nations General Assembly. This body was created to provide humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide and is present in 192 countries. It has attempted to support and protect children migrants and refugees, promote education in different countries such as the Central African Republic, Nigeria. UNICEF has also aimed to provide a possible way to feed children faced with malnutrition such as in Yemen, support children and provide health care facilities in war-torn countries such as Syria to mention a few.
With the introduction and passing of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human right, a part of this declaration was created which was focused on motherhood and children. This is in Article 25 which discloses that there is a need for mothers and children to be treated with special care, assistance, and given social protection.
In 1948, The International Catholic Child Bureau was founded and It is a Non-Governmental Organisation that aims to protect children rights, in Paragraph 244 of the compendium of the social doctrine of the church there is a call for the protection of a child dignity and thus BICE has carried this out even up to present day. Since the 2000’s BICE has operated in over 30 countries and has promoted the rights and dignity of children worldwide In 2019 over 40,000 children were supported by BICE, this were victims, children with disabilities, children in conflicts areas to mention a few
A watershed in the development of child rights happened in 1959 when the United Nations Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the child. This declaration recognised rights that children should have such as rights to education, right to life, freedom of association, right to identity, right to leisure, recreation and play. Right to good health and health care, protection against inhuman treatment, right to be in a supportive environment. Right to identity to mention a few. This Declaration of the rights of the child became widely accepted.
From 1966, there were several conventions, covenant, summits to mention a few that have had an impact on children right from a global scale this includes 1966 international covenants on civil and political rights on the economic, social, and cultural right in which United Nations member state promised to uphold equal rights which included education and protection of all children.
Also In 1968, there was the international conference on human rights, in 1974 there was a call on member states to observe the declaration on the protection of women and children in emergency and armed conflicts. In 1978, a draft of a convention on the rights of a child was created. 1979 was recognized as the International year of the child this was because it was the 20th anniversary of the 1959 declaration of the rights of a child.
Another important epoch regarding the growth and development of child right from a global scale is in 1985 which dealt with rules and principles regarding juvenile justice, the convention on the rights of the child, or the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1989, in 1990 there was the world summit for children held in New York. Other notable dates are 1991,1999, 2000 Protocols on the safety of children, child prostitution, child pornography, and child involvement in armed conflict, in 2006 when manual for the measurement of Juvenile justice indicator was created, also in 2011, there was the creation of an optional protocol on the mechanism on child submission of complaints. In 2019, there was a review of the progress on child right
Looking at the above, it is evident that rights of a child has been looked at and have developed since 19th century, attempts have been made globally, continentally and locally to deal with issues that affect children and their right. Although there have been challenges faced as some countries have not ratified conventions and adopted some of these protocols. Also, It is important to note that the protection of children cuts across the global, continental, regional and local sphere, it also involves government, individuals, and families to protect children.
References
Child rights, right of a child and children’s right is used interchangeably and means the same thing in regard to this post.
Esmeranda Manful &Patrick McCrystal 2010. Conceptualisation of Children’s Rights: What Do Child Care Professionals in Northern Ireland Say? Pages 83-97 | Published online: 06 Jan 2010
BICE: https://bice.org/en/history-rights-child/
SAVE THE CHILDREN: https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/what-we-do/childrens-rights/united-nations-convention-of-the-rights-of-the-child
UNICEF https://www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention/history-child-rights
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rights-children/
