SAY IT RIGHT! – Burning Questions about the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Say it Right!

What is it?

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is an international human rights treaty about young people. It was accepted by the UN General Assembly in 1989 and was ratified by Canada in 1991. The Convention is made up of 41 articles about the rights of young people, one article about public awareness and education, and twelve articles on how to monitor, ratify, and enforce the Convention. The Convention on the Rights of the Child has been adopted by more countries than any other international human rights treaty. By January 1996, 187 countries had signed or ratified it.

So, what is a child according to the Convention?

When the UN says “child”, they mean all young people under 18, except when the age of majority (when someone is considered an adult) is reached earlier. Article 1 of the Convention tells us this.

How does the Convention work?

Although the Convention is not a Canadian law, the principles of the Convention must be reflected in Canadian legislation, policies and programs. Governments must also submit regular reports to the United Nations on their progress in implementing the Convention. The reporting system puts pressure on governments to respect the rights of young people.

Does a UN Convention make any difference in our lives?

By ratifying the Convention, governments commit to respect the rights of people under 18 to participate in decisions that affect them, to survive, and to be protected from harm. Article 4 says that when governments adopt the Convention, they will take “all appropriate measures” to practice it. It also says that when they act on our economic, social and cultural rights, governments agree to do the maximum they can with what’s available to them. Once we know what the Convention says and means, we can work to guarantee that these rights will be the rules that will determine how young people are treated.

Why have a youth edition of the Convention?

The version of the Convention that was passed by the General Assembly and ratified by Canada is a legal document that is written in technical language. If young people are going to understand their rights and responsibilities, we need to start by putting things like the Convention in our own words. On top of this, article 42 of the Convention says that it is the responsibility of governments to make young people aware of their rights in different and active ways. No doubt, a youth-written version of the UN Convention is different and active, and it will make more of us aware of the rights we have.

After all this talk about rights, what about our responsibilities?

Rights and responsibilities can’t be separated. The UN Convention talks about the rights that have been guaranteed to young people by governments. For any relationship to work—between friends, within families, in schools, sports teams or countries—we have to remember that we owe some things to other people and they owe things to us. These basic things that we owe to others include respect and tolerance. The UN Convention describes the basic things that governments owe to people under 18 years old.

What rights are covered in the Convention?

The Convention can be divided into four groups of rights: