Children's Rights

Violations of children’s rights are particularly saddening, as their youth often makes them unable to advocate for themselves and their rights. Such human rights abuses of children come in many different forms, across the entire globe. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted in 1989, and is the most widely ratified treaty in history. Every member of the United Nations has ratified the treaty, with the glaring exception of the United States. And yet, children’s rights continue to be violated with impunity.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantees the right to education, yet globally, 175 million children—nearly half of all children in the age group—are not enrolled in pre-primary education; only 45 percent of children have completed secondary school, according to UNICEF data. The convention also requires parties to protect children from armed conflict and care for those affected; yet globally, over 400 million children live in countries undergoing war or other violent conflicts.

Children are also guaranteed the right to “the highest attainable standard of health” and adequate food and water to combat disease. However, nearly one billion children live in multidimensional poverty, even among the world’s wealthiest nations. To that point, one in every four children in the European Union is at risk of poverty or social exclusion, a larger share than adults (24.2 percent for children, compared to 21.7 percent for adults and 20.4 percent of those over age 65).