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| Sunday, 25 September 2005 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Importance of childhood
1919 The international legal recognition of children's rights owes much to an Englishwoman, Eglantyne Jebb. She launched the Save the Children Fund in response to the post-war misery of thousands of children around Europe. However, her sights were set even higher than providing immediate relief, and in 1920 she moved to Geneva to form the Save the Children International Union (later to become the International Union for Child Welfare). 1924 The League of Nations adopted the Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child, drafted by the International Union for Child Welfare. The Declaration established children's rights as the means for material, moral and spiritual development; special help when hungry, sick, disabled or orphaned; first call on relief when in distress; freedom from economic exploitation; and an upbringing that instills a sense of social responsibility. 1948 The UN General Assembly passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which refers in Article 25 to childhood as "entitled to special care and assistance". 1959 The UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which recognises rights such as freedom from discrimination and the right to a name and a nationality. It also specifically enshrines children's rights to education, health care and special protection. 1979 The UN declared 1979 the International Year of the Child. The greatest achievement of the year was to set in motion a process of much long-term significance: The UN General Assembly agrees that a working group comprising members of the UN Commission on Human Rights, independent experts and observer delegations of non-member governments, non-governmental organisations and UN agencies should be set up to draft a legally binding Convention. 1989 The UN General Assembly unanimously approved the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which entered into force the following year. 1990 The World Summit for Children was held in New York. It includes 71 Heads of State and Government. The leaders signed the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children as well as a Plan of Action for implementing the Declaration, setting goals to be achieved by the year 2000. 1994 The International Year of the Family reaffirmed that programmes should support families as they nurture and protect children, rather than provide substitutes for such functions. 1999 The Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (ILO Convention 182) was adopted. 2000 The UN Millennium Development Goals incorporated specific targets related to children, including reducing the global under-five mortality rate by two thirds and achieving universal primary education over the period 1990 to 2015. The UN General Assembly adopted two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child: one on the involvement of children in armed conflict, the other on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. 2002 The UN General Assembly held a Special Session on Children, meeting for the first time to specifically discuss children's issues. Hundreds of children participated as members of official delegations. World leaders committed themselves to building 'A World Fit for Children'. They reaffirmed that the family holds the primary responsibility for the protection, upbringing and development of children and is entitled to receive comprehensive protection and support. The State of the World's Children 2005 |
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| Politics | Produced by Lake House |
As we celebrate Children's Day on October 1, it is important to realise
how children's rights came into being and how they evolved and came to be
established over the years. 
