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Dear Children of South Africa

We are very happy to present you with this book.
We hope you will read it very carefully because it tells you about you rights as children.

In 1995, our government signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This means that we have agreed to obey special rules about how children should be treated all over the world. If we do not obey these rules, we will be in a lot of trouble at the United Nations!

But one thing we noticed in South Africa is that, although the convention is about children, it is not written in a way that children can easily understand. What is the use of that, we asked ourselves. Surely children must be able to understand their rights?

That is why we decided to write this book for you.

The rights in this book are your rights. They belong to every child in South Africa and to every child in the whole world. Nobody can take these rights away from you.

So make sure you know about them!

Respect the rights of others!

Help us to build the future of our country!

And make sure you have a lot of fun at the same time!

 
 
 



Once upon a time I was a child.

I have children of my own. So I know that the most important thing for a child is to feel safe and protected. This book is about the rights of children to feel safe and protected in our country. I am committed to making sure that you know your rights and that everyone in my department works hard to protect you, your family and friends.

Vusi Pikoli

Director-General
Department of Justice and Constitutional Development



I know that you are the future adults of the country.

I also realise that as the children you presently are, you have a great need to feel safe, secure, valued and cared for. I understand because I too was once a child. It is my job then to make sure that those who commit crimes against children are prosecuted and punished appropriately. I do take my job seriously and I am committed to securing a safe and respectable life for you. This book is for you and will help you to know what behaviour is not acceptable and to report those adults and children who interfere with your rights. All the children of the world must enjoy these rights.

Bulelani Ngcuka

National Director
Public Prosecutions


We all belong to the human family

We all belong to a very large human family. We have brothers and sisters all over the world.

Many years ago, long before you were born, all the governments in the world came together to from a world government called the United Nations. These governments agreed that every member of our human family has the right to freedom, justice and peace in the world.

And everyone means absolutely everyone. Wherever we come from or whoever we are. Whether we are rich or poor or somewhere in between. Whatever our colour, race or religion. Whether we are men or women or girls or boys.

But it is very clear that children need much more care and help than grownups do. This is why the Convention (agreement) on the Rights of the Child was agreed by the United Nations on 20 November 1989.


The Convention on the Rights of the Child

There are many reasons why the United Nations was especially worried about children and felt that special rights were needed.

First of all, the United Nations is convinced that children grow best in a family or home where they can be happy, loved, and understood. This means that families and those who look after children must be protected so that they can look after their children and help them grow.

Secondly, children need to grow up in a way that will make them responsible adults and members of their community. They should be taught to live in the world in peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and unity.

Thirdly, many different international documents and declarations have called for special care, welfare, treatment and protection of children. It makes sense to write them all down in one document - a document for children only.

Fourthly, although everybody wants all children to grow up happy and contented, the United Nations knows that, in countries all over the world, many children live in very difficult conditions.

For these and many other reasons, it makes good sense to have a special Convention on the Rights of the Child. This Convention talks about all the difficulties and problems the children of the world may face and includes all the special rights children should have.


This is your Convention

This is your Convention and it is very important that you know about it and what it is about. It is made up of different parts (which the United Nations calls "articles").

It is written in legal language so that it can be used in the courts for your protection. But this makes it quite difficult to understand. This is why we have written it in simpler language for you in this book.

But first of all, we need to explain to you what a Convention is and how it comes about.

As we explained, the United Nations is a kind of world government. This government meets in a huge room at the United Nations building in New York. It is here that they discuss matters of world importance like the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Remember a Convention is an agreement between the countries of the world.

Once they have agreed on a Convention, each country must go back to its own Parliament and agree on the Convention there. This is called ratifying the Convention. The Parliament must vote that it will obey the rules of the Convention. Once the Parliament of the country has agreed to (ratified) the Convention, the government of that country must obey its rules.

We must remember that not all countries agree to every Convention.

In 1995, the South African government agreed to (ratified) the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This means our government must obey the rules of the Convention.

The United Nations has a special committee of people who must ask countries to tell them what they are doing to obey these rules.

When South Africa signed the Convention, we made a special promise to the children of South Africa that they would put children first in everything they did.


Article 1
The right to be a child

The convention says that a child is a person under the age of 18 years. But sometimes a country may have a law that allows a child to become an adult earlier.

Can you think of a reason why a country may allow a child to become an adult under the age of 18 years? For example, in some countries people under the age of 18 are allowed to get married. Do you think that a person under the age of 18 years old but married should be treated as a child?

Article 2
All children have rights

Every country must make sure that all the rights in this Convention apply to every single child in that country.

No child can be left out because of her race, colour, sex, language or religion.

No child can be left out because of what he thinks or says or because of where she comes from.

No child can be left out because he is poor or rich or disabled in any way.

No child can be left out because she is different or because his parents or family or those who look after her are seen as different or bad or strange.

Governments must take serious steps to make sure that children are not discriminated against or punished because of something their parents, family members or those who look after them are, have done, have said or believe in.

In other words, a child should not be blamed for something an adult member of his or her family has done and which the child cannot help.

Do you know of any children whose rights may be in danger because they are different from other children? Think about this for a while. Why is this so? What can you do to prevent this from happening? What can you say to prevent other people from hurting these children?

Article 3
The right to be looked after

All social welfare institutions, courts and other bodies and people that work with and for children must put what is best for the child first.

Governments must make sure that children have the protection and care they need. But this does not mean they can ignore parents and other people who are responsible for children.

Governments must make sure that the places and services they provide to look after or protect children are safe and healthy. They must make sure that there are always enough well-trained and suitable people to look after children and good people in charge so that nothing can go wrong.

Governments have a responsibility to provide help to children who need it. What kind of people should be employed to give this help? How should they treat children? If children have to live in places away from home, what should these places be like? Remember that these children may be lonely and afraid. They may also be angry because they feel hurt or abandoned.

Article 4
All governments must do the best they can

Both rich and poor governments must do the very best they can to find ways to make sure the rights in this Convention apply to all children. If, in spite of all its efforts, a country does not have enough money to pay for everything its children need, it should ask other countries to help it.

Why is it important that countries make every effort to put the interests of children first?

Article 5
Parents and caregivers must guide their children

Governments must respect that parents and others who look after children have a responsibility, a right and a duty to guide children on how to use their rights. Sometimes guidance is provided by local custom or culture.

The older or more mature a child is, the more he or she will be involved in decisions of this kind.

Think about this. How old do you think a child should be before you can understand and use your rights? When you talk about some of the rights later in this book, it may be interesting for you to talk about some of them with your parents or the people who look after you. After all, very young children need to be very well guided by grownups. Older children begin to understand the importance of rights and responsibilities.

Article 6
The right to life

Every child has the right to life.

This means that governments must do everything they can to make sure that every child survives and develops (grows up healthy and strong).

Children who are born in very poor surroundings where there is a lot of illness around the, no clean water and little medical help often die early in childhood. This makes it very important that help is given to mothers and their babies at this stage of their lives. Can you think of some of the things that would make a better life for mothers and babies and give babies and young children a healthier start in life?

Articles 7 & 8
The right to be you

The birth of all children must be registered immediately after they are born. Children have the right to a name and the right to belong to a country (such as South Africa). Each government must make sure that this happens.

As far as possible, children should have the right to be cared for by their parents and to know who their parents are.

Governments agree to respect the right of children to keep their own identity.

Having a name and a nationality (being a citizen of a country) is called having an identity. One of the first things you learn in you life is what your name is. The next thing you learn is what family you belong to and how old you are. When your birth is registered you are given a first name and a family name and the date of your birth. Your nationality is also written down. This says who you are.

Article 9
The right to be part of a family

Children have the right not to be separated from their parents or family against their will. Sometimes, however, the courts may decide that a separation is best for a child. Perhaps the parents have been hurting the child or not looking after the child properly. Or perhaps the parents are not living together and the court must decide which parent the child should live with.

Before the court can make a decision, everyone must be able to say how she or he feels about this.

Governments must respect the right of the child who is separated from one or both parents to continue to see both parents regularly (unless this is not in the best interest of the child).

In very sad cases, the reason for the separation may be that a government has detained, imprisoned, exiled, deported or even killed one or both parents of the child. In such cases, the government must give the parents and the child information about each other unless it would harm the child to do so. Asking for information must not cause danger to any member of the family.

Try to imagine what this might be like. Perhaps you could write a story or do a class play about a child whose parents were put into prison during a revolution and how the child went to the government to ask where they were. This child knew that the Convention said he or she had a right to this information. Did he or she get the information? Did he or she find his or her parents?

Article 10
Governments must help families to stay together

If a child and his or her parents are in different countries and wish to join up as a family, the two governments must do everything they can to make this happen quickly and in the kindest possible way.

A child whose parents live in different countries should have the right to see both parents regularly. This means that the governments of these countries should respect the right of the child and parents to visit each other.

Article 11
Governments must stop people taking children out of a country

Governments must do everything they can to stop children being taken out of the country they are living in illegally and not returned.

This means that governments must come to agreements with each other to make sure that, if children are taken in this way, they will be returned quickly.

This kind of thing can happen when a parent wants to take a child away from another parent, even though the court has said he or she cannot. It is like stealing a child.

Article 12
The right to speak and be listened to

Children have the right to say what they think on matters they have feelings about. Their opinions must be listened to.

This is your opportunity to say what you think. Do you think you are able to form an opinion on matters that affect you? Sometimes these are quite small things. But sometimes they are very important. For example, how would you feel if you were going to live with one parent or another? Or, how would you feel if you were afraid of somebody who was hurting you in some way?

It is also important to realise that grownups sometimes do not know that children have something important to say. If they do not listen, there is always somebody who will.

Your thoughts and feelings are important. You need to talk about them. If possible, have a discussion in class or with your friends about this.

It is very important that children are given the opportunity to be heard in court or any place where their future is discussed. Depending on the law of the country concerned, children should be allowed to speak or someone else should speak for the child.

Article 13
The right to say what you like

Children have the right to freedom of expression. This means that children must be allowed to say what they think and to hear or read what other people think. This may be done in various ways: by listening and speaking; by writing or reading; by drawing or painting; or in any other way that a child chooses.

There may be certain laws that limit this right. Some of these laws may protect the rights of other people or keep the peace.

Do you believe that things you say can harm people? If so, how? Can you think of any things that children should not be allowed to read or see? Can you think of an example?

Article 14
The right to think and believe what you like

Children have the right to think or believe what they like. They also have the right to
choose their own religion.

But, at the same time, parents have the right and duty to guide children while they are growing up.

Because you have the right to believe what you like, obviously other people do too. This means you need to respect that we all have different religions and beliefs.

Some people may choose not to believe in any religion at all. We all need to learn to respect each other and what we believe.

If you think about it, it is our respect for each other and how we treat each other that is important.

How many religions can you think of? Do you know people who do not believe in any god at all? Does belonging to a different belief make people bad or just different? Many of the evil things in the world happen because people forget that we are all brothers and sisters in the big human family. As children we can grow up and change this world.

Article 15
The right to be friends with whoever you like and gather in peace

Children have the right to freedom of association and to freedom of peaceful assembly. This means that children have the right to choose their friends and go to any meeting, march or protest, provided it is peaceful.

Democracy means that people have the right to complain about things in public (protest), provided they do so peacefully. Governments must allow this to happen.

But sometimes, undemocratic governments stop peaceful protests. Those of you who watch television may have seen this happening. If you ask your parents, they will tell you that it used to happen in South Africa.

However, if you decide to go out and smash a shop window or throw a stone at the police or kill somebody, you are not protesting peacefully but interfering with somebody else's rights. If you do this, governments have a right and a duty to stop this kind of protest.

Article 16
The right to privacy and respect

Like every other person, children have the right to privacy. Nobody can search the home, clothes or read the letters of any child without a very good reason. Like every other person, children have the right to respect.

Article 17
Television, books and radio (media)

Governments agree that television, radio, book publishers and others should produce programmes and books that benefit and educate children all over the world.

Article 18
The responsibility of parents and governments

Governments must do everything they can to make people understand that both parents are equally responsible for bringing up and developing children.

The people with the biggest responsibility for developing and bringing up children are their parents or those who look after them.

Do you agree that both parents are equally responsible for bringing up their children? How often does this happen? Should one parent be left with all the work while the other one does nothing? Is that fair? Do you agree that if parents bring children into the world, they should be responsible for those children?

Governments must help parents and caregivers to look after children in the best possible way.

Governments must also make sure there are good institutions, facilities and services to care for children who need extra help.

Governments must do everything they can to make sure that children of working parents benefit from the child-care services and facilities they qualify for.

What do you think governments should do to help children?

The Convention suggests that some parents and people who look after children need help and that the children of working parents should have benefits.

Obviously there are also children who need other kinds of help. Governments need to make sure there are good people and places for children who do not have homes and families to look after them. What kinds of places and people do you think these should be?

Article 19
Parents and other people who hurt children

The government must do everything it can to protect children from parents and other people who hurt them. The government must try to protect children from all kinds of physical and mental violence, injury or abuse (including sexual abuse), bad treatment or exploitation.

This means passing laws and making plans to stop these things from happening.

Article 20
The rights of children who are forced to leave home

Sometimes there are reasons why children are no longer able to live with their families. This may be for a short time or even forever. Sometimes this is the best thing for the child.

If this happens, the government must make special plans to take care of the child.

Various things can be done. Children can be put in foster care, adopted or placed in a home with other children.

Whatever is done, it is important that the child's needs and background and happiness are considered.

Article 21
The rights of adopted children

Governments must make sure adoption happens in a way that is in the best interest of the child. They must make sure that responsible people are in charge. They must make sure that good and kind people are chosen to adopt the child. And they must make sure that the parent or parents giving up the child for adoption are sure they want to do this.

Governments must also understand that, if a child cannot be adopted or place in foster care or cared for in his or her own country, a child may be adopted in another country.

Governments also need to make sure that people do not make money out of adoptions. To stop this happening, they should make agreements with other governments to make sure that adoptions between countries are made very carefully.

Is is obviously very important that children should go to loving homes and be properly looked after.

Most people agree that children should not be bought or sold. After all, they are human beings, not bicycles or dolls. It does happen though that people pay money for children.

What do you think should be done about this?

Article 22
The rights of refugee children

Governments must make sure that refugee children are protected and helped.

This applies to refugee children who are all alone and refugee children who are with their parents or with other people who are looking after them.

A refugee is a person who has left his or her own country, often because she or he has been forced to leave because of a war, and is trying to get permission to live in another country.

Refugees have often lost everything they own and have been separated from other members of their families. Many of them are children.

The United Nations has a program that works with refugees all over the world. Governments must co-operate with the United Nations or other organisations working with the United Nations to protect and help refugee children. They must also try to find the parents or family of refugee children who are on their own.

If the parents or other family members cannot be found, the child should be treated in exactly the same way as any other child who is no longer able to live with his or her family (Have a look at Article 20 again to see what this means).

Try to imagine what it must be like to be a child refugee, all alone in a strange country. Perhaps you cannot even speak the same language. Maybe there is a terrible war going on in your country so you cannot go back at the moment. You will need all the help you can get. There are many children who have this problem. Even if you can't help them, it's good to think about them sometimes and realise how hard life if for some members of our human family.

Article 23
The rights of children with disabilities

Children with mental and physical disabilities have the right to live a full and decent life. Such children must be allowed to live with dignity and pride. They must be given everything they need so that they can help themselves and join actively in the life of the community.

Think about this for a moment. How can you live in dignity if you can't get around because you can't walk and nobody has given you a wheelchair? How can you help yourself if you need to go to school and you can't see what is written in a book? How can you part of life in the community if everyone goes off and leaves you because you can't join in with what they're doing?

Children with disabilities have the right to special care. This means that governments must give whatever help they can to the disabled child. How much help is given depends on what is needed by the child and the parents or whoever looks after the child.

In other words, children who can't walk may need some help with a wheelchair or other form of assistance. Children who can't see may need special Braille books and so on. For example, we will be printing this book in Braille so that blind children will be able to read it too.

Wherever possible, this help should be given free of charge, depending on what the people looking after the child can afford.

Government must try to make sure that children with disabilities receive schooling, training, health care, rehabilitation (building up their strength and recovering as much as possible), preparation for work and opportunities to play. Children with disabilities should be given every opportunity to develop as individual people and as members of society.

Perhaps you are a child with a disability. Perhaps you know a child with a disability. Or perhaps you are not. Whoever you are, try to think and talk about these things.

Disability is not just a problem people with disabilities must face. It is a challenge we all need to meet. After all, we are all members of the human family, aren't we?

And, once again, there's a lot of information all over the world. Countries need to share this information. In this way, we can learn to care about each other and build a better world for our human family.

Article 24
The right to good health

Children have the right to the best possible health.

They also have the right to be treated and made well when they are ill.

Governments must try to make sure that no children are deprived of their right to health care. They must work towards making sure that all children have this right.

Many things need to be done to make this happen:

Can you think of ways in which South Africa is trying to do some of these things?

Article 25
The right to have child care reviewed

Governments must check on the situation of children who are placed in foster or other care from time to time.

Article 26
The right to welfare

Children have the right to receive social welfare benefits (grants). Governments must do everything they can to make sure they get these benefits as soon as possible.

The first to receive these benefits must be children in need and those who look after them.

Article 27
The right to development

Children have the right to a standard of living that makes it possible for them to develop their minds and bodies.

The most important people to provide this standard of living are the parents or those who look after the children.

How good a job they will do depends on how much they can afford and how well they are able to look after the children.

As far as possible, governments must help parents and other caregivers to provide for the child's development. Where needed, governments should give help and support, particularly where food, clothing and housing is needed.

Obviously some parents have more money than others. But children should not suffer because of this. Children do not ask to be born into poor families. They have the right to the same chance as everybody else.

This is why the Convention says that governments should help families, especially families that are too poor to buy food, clothes and homes for their children.

Governments must also do everything possible to make sure that parents responsible for paying support for their children do so. Where a parent who is not paying for a child lives in another country, governments must come to agreements with each other so that the money can be claimed on behalf of the child.

It is very sad that some parents refuse to pay support for their children. This often leaves one parent with the burden of looking after the child and working to support the child as well. Governments need to make sure that both parents are responsible for their children. This is something children need to think and talk about. One day, you will be adults and will make choices about your lives. If you decide to have a child, that child will be your responsibility for 18 years. It may be the most important choice you ever make.

Article 28
The right to education

Every child has the right to education. Governments need to work towards making sure that all children have this right.

Before all children have equal education, many things must be done.

The South African Schools Act is the law that says what must happen in our schools. This law does not allow children to be beaten in schools. This is because it is seen as cruel and inhuman punishment that damages the human dignity of children. Do you agree with this? How do you think children should be punished if they misbehave?

Governments must encourage international co-operation in education. It is most important that the world works together to help everyone learn to read and learn about important things like science and technology and modern ways of teaching.

Article 29
What is education?

Governments agree that children should learn about the following things. This is what education should do:

This means that, with the right education, you can make the very best of yourself and use all you talents and potential to the full. Like a rough diamond that is dug out of the ground, you can be polished up and become a sparkling and valuable gem. Think about who you are and what you are good at and how education can help you use these talents to the full.

Education helps you learn respect for the human family to which we all belong. The rules of that family are that all countries and people should live in friendship, peace and understanding.

So while education helps you respect your own family, culture and country, it also helps you respect other cultures and nations. This is most important if we are to be members of the human family.

So, as you can see, education is a lot more than just sitting in class or doing homework or writing exams. It means preparing yourself for life.

Education means becoming a whole person. Have a discussion about this in class or with your friends.

Article 30
The rights of minority communities

In many countries, there are groups of people who do not speak the same language or belong to the same ethnic group or practise the same religion as the main group.

Children who belong to these smaller (minority) groups must be allowed to enjoy their own culture, practise their own religion and speak their own language.

Article 31
The right to play

Children have the right to rest and relax and play in ways that suit their ages. Children also have the right to take part freely in cultural life and the arts.

Governments must respect and encourage the right of the child to take part in cultural and artistic life and must also make sure that there are suitable and equal opportunities for culture, art, play and relaxation.

What opportunities are there for play and relaxation and culture in your area or community or school? How could these be improved?

What would you like to do that you cannot do at the moment? Sport? Art? Drama? Poetry? Music? Maybe some of the parents or teachers at your school could help you start you something new.

Use the power of your ideas!

Article 32
The right not to work

Children have the right to be protected from being forced to work to make money for others. Children also have the right to be protected from doing work that is dangerous or will stop them from going to school or will harm their health or development.

Governments must do everything they can to make sure that this right is protected. This means they must set an age below which children must not be allowed to work. They must make rules about how many hours and in what conditions children may work. They must punish those who break these rules.

It is a very terrible thing that small children all over the world are forced to work for a living. Some very big companies make lots of money by selling products that are made by children. Some parents are so poor that they feel they have no choice. What should governments do to try to stop this from happening?

Article 33
The right to be protected from drugs

Governments must do everything they can to protect children from taking dangerous drugs. They must also prevent children being used to produce and transport these drugs.

We all know that drugs are very dangerous. In some parts of the world, children are event used to help make or smuggle drugs. This puts the children in danger and turns them into criminals at an early age. Do you think drugs are a problem in our country?

Article 34
The right to be protected from sexual abuse

Governments must protect children from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. It is very important that governments work together to stop children being paid or forced to take part in illegal sexual activity or exploited as prostitutes or for other illegal sexual practices, or to make pornographic films and other performances.

Sexual abuse is a very terrible thing. The first thing children need to know about sexual abuse it that it is not their fault if it happens.

This is what could happen. Somebody could touch you in a place you do not want to be touched. Somebody could ask you to touch them. Somebody could show you pictures of people touching each other in this way.

The person who does this could be someone you know very well. He or she could be your mom, your dad, your uncle or your neighbour. He or she is probably older than you and may be quite nice to you.

Whoever he or she is, what they are doing is wrong. Because it is wrong, they will ask you to keep it a secret. They will probably try to frighten you or threaten you. Find somebody to tell. Don't keep the secret. If you do, they will never stop.

And always remember! It is not your fault.

Sometimes children are very poor and hungry and can be persuaded to do things they do not really understand in exchange for food or money. Sometimes they are locked up or beaten and forced to do things against their will.

Some of these things involve having sex with adults or taking part in films or plays or photographs that show such things.

All these children are hurt and frightened and need help.

All children need to know about these things so they are careful not to talk to strangers and know that it is OK to say NO if somebody wants to touch them.

Article 35
The right not to be stolen, bought or sold

Governments must work with each other in every way they can to prevent children being abducted (stolen), bought and sold (traded) for any reason or in any way.

We have seen that children are sometimes used by very bad people. For this reason, they are sometimes stolen or bought and sold like slaves. Governments need to work together to make sure that this is stopped. Think of different ways people could take children out of the country and how this could be stopped. This is a good subject for a play in the classroom. Imagine you are a border official and a big truck approaches. You hear a child crying inside the truck...

Article 36
The right not to be exploited

Governments must protect children against all other forms of exploitation that may hurt or damage them.

Exploitation is when people use children or others for their own benefit. For example, they may make them work for very little money. Think about different ways people are exploited in this life. Sometimes children are exploited because they are too small to protect themselves.

Article 37
The rights of children in trouble with the law

Children who are in trouble with the law have a right to special protection.

There are many reasons for why this is so. Obviously very young children must be treated differently to older children and children who are breaking the law for the first time should be given an opportunity to get their lives back on the right track.

Sometimes children who have been abandoned or abused have special problems that need to be dealt with.

Prison is not a good place for children. It teaches them to be criminals and join gangs.

It is also very hard on children to be separated from their families.

Children in trouble with the law have special rights.

What do you think may lead a child to commit a crime? Have you ever committed a crime? What do you think prison life might do to a young person? What could be done to help young people to help them turn away from crime and live a good life?

Article 38
The rights of children in wars

There are many international rules about children living in places where there are wars and fighting with weapons. Governments agree to respect these rules and to try to make sure others respect them.

One of the things governments must do is make sure that children under the age of 15 years old do not fight in wars. This means they must not allow any child under 15 to join their armies.

If you watch television, you will have seen child soldiers in some parts of the world. These children have lost their childhood. They do not go to school. They do not play. They are separated from their families. The armies that recruited them are ignoring the Convention and all the international rules.

When recruiting children between fifteen and eighteen years of age, governments must try to recruit older children (those closer to 18) before they recruit younger ones (those closer to 15).

Governments must do everything they can to protect and care for children where there are wars and fighting with weapons.

Can you imagine living in a war zone? Some of your parents may have lived in those kinds of situations in the past. Some of you may remember them from when you where much younger. See if you can find someone who can remember a situation like this in South Africa in the 1980s or early 1990s and ask them to tell you what it was like. For children, these kinds of situations are very frightening because they do not know what is going on.

Article 39
The rights of children who have been hurt

Governments must do everything they can to help child victims to recover from being hurt. Sometimes it is their bodies that have been hurt and sometimes it is their minds. They must also be helped to rejoin the community.

There are many ways that children are hurt. Sometimes they are neglected or exploited or abused. Sometimes they are tortured or punished in cruel or inhuman (like animals) ways. Sometimes they are hurt in wars or when there is fighting with weapons.

Children should be allowed to get better in a place and in a way that restores their health, self-respect and dignity.

Think for a moment how you feel when you have been hurt. Sometimes your body is really sore. Sometimes your feelings are badly hurt. Sometimes you are really, really sad. Some children become so sad or see such terrible things that they no longer wish to speak. Some have dreadful dreams. Some even harm themselves or others. These children need a lot of help. They need a quiet place and kind
people and lots of time so that they can get better again.

Article 40
The rights of children accused of breaking the law

Children accused of breaking the law or committing a crime have the right to be treated in a way that gives them a feeling of dignity and worth.

The way they are treated must also help them respect the human rights and the freedom of others.

They also have a right to be treated in a way that it suitable to their age and helps them to feel that they will be able to rejoin society and play a role in the community in the future.

It is important that we think about this. Imagine you are accused of breaking a law. Is is best to treat you as a horrible child who will never be any good to anybody? Or should people try to show you how you can work things out and do better in the future? If children are treated with respect and given some help, many will be able to find their way back to our communities. That way we can build a better society and happier children. This is another good topic for a class play. Imagine that two children in your class break the law. One is treated well, the other badly. What happens to them?

At the very least, government must make sure that children accused of breaking the law must:

The government must set a minimum age below which no child can be charged with a crime.

What age do you think this should be? Is a child able to understand that she or he has committed a crime at 7, at 10, or at 14 years old? What is your opinion?

Government must look at ways of dealing with children outside of the courts.

Can you think of some ways in which children can put things right without having to go to court or prison?

Is this the ending or the beginning?

That's a good question.

Obviously every book has an ending.

But now that you know about your rights, you may be ready to being something new in you life.

Before you read this book, did you know that you belonged to a human family that
stretches right across the world?

Before you read this book, did you know that the rights of children depend on how well that human family looks after its brothers and sisters, whoever they are and wherever they live?

What you need to decide now is whether this book has a sad ending or a happy ending.

Will we work for peace?

Will we work for friendship?

Will we try to understand each other?

Will we be kind?

Will we be patient with each other?

If each one of us tries a little bit each day of our lives...

There may just be a happy ending in there somewhere.

But this is your book...

What do you think?


Some notes for teachers

The United Nations

The United NAtions was established after the Second World War. On 24 October 1945, 51 countries came together in an effort to secure peace through international cooperation and collective security. Today, nearly every nation in the world belongs to the United Nations.

When Sates become members of the United Nations, they agree to accept the obligations of the UN Charter, an international treaty which sets out basic principles of international relations. According to the Charter, the UN has four purposes: to maintain international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among nations, to cooperate in solving international problems and to promote respect for human rights, and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations.

UN Members are sovereign countries. The United Nations is not a world government, and it does not make laws. It does, however, provide the means to help resolve international conflict and formulate policies on matters affecting all of us. At the UN, all the Member States - large and small, rich and poor, with differing political views and social systems - have a voice and vote in this process.

The United Nations has six main organs. Five of them - the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council and the Secretariat - are based at UN Headquarters in New York. The sixth, the International Court of Justice, is located at The Hague, in the Netherlands.

A Convention

A convention is an agreement between states that has been agreed by the General
Assembly of the United Nations.

In 1948, the United Nations proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Universal Declaration sets out the basic rights and freedoms to which all women and men and children are entitled - among them the right to life, liberty and nationality, to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, to work, to be educated, to take part in government.

These rights are legally binding by virtue of two International Covenants, to which most States are parties. Once Covenant deals with economic, social and cultural rights and the other with civil and political rights. Together with the Declaration, they constitute the International Bill of Human Rights.

The Declaration laid the groundwork for more than 80 conventions and declarations on human rights, including conventions to eliminate racial discrimination and discrimination against women; conventions on the rights of the child, the status of refugees and the prevention of genocide; and declarations on self-determination, enforced disappearances and the right to development.

A Convention that is agreed at the United Nations must be ratified by the Parliament/Government of each Member of the United Nations. Once this has been done, that Government must obey the rules of the Convention.

Defining Government

In the Convention itself, the word used for the responsible government is "State Party". This means the state that is party to the agreement or convention. To simplify this for the children, we have used the word "government".

In using this word, however, we want to be clear that government includes the whole public sector. In other words, government includes everyone responsible for running the country: our teachers, our nurses, our administration, our social workers and everyone else who has a role to play in making sure things work. Obviously, the leadership must come from the top. Resources must be made available and an example must be set. But we, as a nation, have committed ourselves to putting children first. And this is what we must all do.

In whatever small way we can.


Most of these notes have been extracted from the United Nations website at http://www.un.org/

For more information, please consult the website or your local library.

With funds kindly made available by Sida