November 20 - Universal Children's Day
November 20th marks the date on which the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, in 1959, and signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in 1989.
Established in 1954, the Universal Children’s Day (1) was one of the first international days designated by the United Nations.
Goal
The goal of the day is to promote world fraternity and understanding between children and to support activities promoting the welfare of children around the world.
The Declaration on the Rights of the Child emphasizes a child’s right to :
- A name, a nationality and an identity
- Familial love
- Education
- The right to life
- The care and protection against mistreatment and discrimination
Hoped for improvements
- The Declaration on the Rights of the Child was further developed and voted on in 1989. However, it does not (yet) include the child's right to peace (2), the right to its security, or the right to its protection against violence (physical, psychological or sexual) (3).
- The USA is the only country of 190 remaining to be party to the Convention on Childs rights of 1989 (4).
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(1) Universal Children’s Day – Official site of the United Nations
(2) The vote to approve the Right to peace is also still pending after years of negotiations amongst the countries of the UN.
(3) Convention on the Rights of the Child, UN Resolution A/RES/44/25, 20 November 1989.
(4) Wikipedia.org, Convention on the Rights of the Child
