This year marks the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This report celebrates the achievements of the past three decades and highlights the critical work that remains. It presents data on several key issues where progress is stalling or reversing: child mortality, immunization, climate change, education participation, child marriage, and urbanization. The report also advocates for all stakeholders to recommit to the Convention, stepping up their efforts to fulfil its promise in the next 30 years.

Despite some acknowledgement over the years of the significance of seeing children as rights holders, children’s concerns continue to run the risk of not being considered political and mainstream: they continue to be viewed as extensions of adults or simply as members of families and communities. This when the reality is that children are citizens the minute they are born, and entitled to as much attention, if not more than adults, given their age and vulnerability. Concerned with the mainstreaming of children’s interests in policy-making, this book raises such questions as: What is good governance vis-à-vis children? What are the standards and indicators? Can there be one answer for this question that is applicable to all countries? In order to arrive at a better understanding of what good governance for children means and how the realization of the political, cultural, social and civil rights of children may be achieved, the book draws on the diverse and yet comprehensive body of knowledge that has developed over the years from initiatives taken by organisations across the world who work with policy makers to make governance systems more accountable and responsive to the well-being of children as citizens in themselves, simultaneously empowering children to take part in decision-making processes that impact their lives.

What are rights? Why do we have rights? Who has rights? Who bestows these rights? Do we need a document outlining our rights? What does it mean to have rights in the 21st century? What do rights mean to different people in different parts of the world? In 1989, world leaders decided that children needed a special convention - a legally binding international instrument - incorporating all the minimum entitlements and freedoms of all children that should be respected by governments. Drawn up by the United Nations, the Convention on the Rights of the Child comprises of 54 articles and has been signed by 193 countries. This exquisitely beautiful picture book takes the articles of the Convention and translates them into a language children can understand, in a non-preachy manner and with full-page artwork to illustrate each of these articles. Topics covered include food and water, healthcare, housing, poverty, international development, gender, race, the environment, disability, education, citizenship, family, war and freedom of speech. AGES: 6+ AUTHOR: Alain Serres was born in 1956 in Biarritz, France. He was a school teacher for thirteen years before turning his hand to publishing. In 1996 he founded the independent French publisher, Rue du Monde, of which he is still the Director. Alain has written more than eighty titles for children. Aurelia Fronty was born in born in France in 1973. After graduating from the art school of Duperre in Paris, she went on to work in fashion before turning her hand to children's illustration. She has illustrated over forty children's titles. SELLING POINTS: have the right to be a child is endorsed by Amnesty International UK and we are very pleased to be working with Amnesty in raising awareness of human rights through education. For more information about Amnesty's work, educational resources and the full Convention on the Rights of the Child (in child-friendly language) visit: www.amnesty.org.uk/education REVIEWS: "This beautifully illustrated book takes key articles of the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child and presents them as deceptively simple - but open - questions that explore the nature of, necessity for, and responsibilities that must accompany our 'rights' as citizens of this planet. Every turn of the page reveals a new opportunity to explore assumptions about our entitlements as human beings, and consider the implications of turning them into a ratified treaty. For example, 'If girls and boys are different, can our rights be exactly the same?' 'Can playing be a right too?' 'How about the right to breathe clean air?' Intended to provoke both independent thought and group discussion, this slim little paperback certainly has the potential to become an immensely valuable KS2 resource - as well as being an appealing, inspiring and accessible read in its own, well, right." -Teach Primary Colour illustrations

The rights of the child in words and pictures.

In 2014 the world’s most widely ratified human rights treaty, one specifically for children, reached the milestone of its twenty-fifth anniversary. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and in the time since then it has entered a new century, reshaping laws, policies, institutions and practices across the globe, along with fundamental conceptions of who children are, their rights and entitlements, and society’s duties and obligations to them. Yet despite its rapid entry into force worldwide, there are concerns that the Convention remains a high-level paper treaty without the traction on the ground needed to address ever-continuing violations of children’s rights. This book, based on papers from the conference ‘25 Years CRC’ held by the Department of Child Law at Leiden University, draws together a rich collection of research and insight by academics, practitioners, NGOs and other specialists to reflect on the lessons of the past 25 years, take stock of how international rights find their way into children’s lives at the local level, and explore the frontiers of children’s rights for the 25 years ahead.

When you were born, a song began... So begins this lyrical and unique non-fiction picture book by award-winning children's author Nicola Davies. With tenderness and heart, Nicola introduces young readers to the universal rights that every child is entitled to under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Using the metaphor of song, the book opens with the arrival of a newborn and its unique 'song', then pans out to explore all the essential things that every song needs to thrive - love, protection, a home, a name, the chance to explore and learn. In the latter half of the book, the issues of child labour, exploitation and war are sensitively introduced to emphasise that we all must play our part in championing children's rights and offering support to those who need it most. With deeply moving watercolour illustrations by award-winning artist Marc Martin, this is a book that encourages children and adults alike to speak up for young people all around the world, and to treat one another with compassion and kindness.

This open access book presents a discussion on human rights-based attributes for each article pertinent to the substantive rights of children, as defined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). It provides the reader with a unique and clear overview of the scope and core content of the articles, together with an analysis of the latest jurisprudence of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. For each article of the UNCRC, the authors explore the nature and scope of corresponding State obligations, and identify the main features that need to be taken into consideration when assessing a State’s progressive implementation of the UNCRC. This analysis considers which aspects of a given right are most important to track, in order to monitor States' implementation of any given right, and whether there is any resultant change in the lives of children. This approach transforms the narrative of legal international standards concerning a given right into a set of characteristics that ensure no aspect of said right is overlooked. The book develops a clear and comprehensive understanding of the UNCRC that can be used as an introduction to the rights and principles it contains, and to identify directions for future policy and strategy development in compliance with the UNCRC. As such, it offers an invaluable reference guide for researchers and students in the field of childhood and children’s rights studies, as well as a wide range of professionals and organisations concerned with the subject.

Takes a look at the lives of children around the world through the lens of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and through stories of statistics.

On 20 November 2009, the global community celebrates the 20th anniversary of the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the unique document that sets international standards for the care, treatment and protection of all individuals below age 18. To celebrate this landmark, the United Nations Children's Fund is dedicating a special edition of its flagship report The State of the World's Children to examining the Convention's evolution, progress achieved on child rights, challenges remaining, and actions to be taken to ensure that its promise becomes a reality for all children.

Literacy has now been recognized as a human right for over 50 years in several international declarations and initiatives. Every child has a right to read and we have a social responsibility, as parents, teachers, librarians, publishers, booksellers, campaigners and policy makers to ensure that they are able to exercise that right. Reading by Right: Successful strategies to ensure every child can read to succeed provides a collection of chapters from international experts covering aspects of overcoming reading difficulties or reading reluctance in children and young people. The book reveals strategies that are proving effective in overcoming barriers to reading from birth to teens, looking at practices and projects from around the globe and revealing some common principles and drivers that have generated success. Content covered includes: an examination of the current state of reading in the UK and internationally and what the latest research tells us about children who are failing to readhow youngsters become ‘reluctant readers’ and how to improve the situation for everyoneexamples of successful projects from the Republic of Korea and Finland – countries that consistently perform well in reading tests and international league tablesanalysis of diversity in publishing and children’s books, drawing on expertise from authors and publishers. This book will be valuable for readers from all those professions that engage with young people and families and with the development of literacy, including librarians; teachers; service managers; consultants and other professional practitioners; and also to concerned parents.