Children's Day is on October 1:

Let your voice be heard...

The month of October breezes in with a host of special days for us to celebrate. A majority of these days are celebrated the world over, but one special day, which has great significance for all of you, is celebrated in our country on October 1, even though the day designated for Universal Children's Day by the United Nations is November 20.

Will this Children's Day too be just another day for millions of children in our country? Let's hope not. Even though children are considered to be the wealth of any nation, unfortunately many children do not enjoy all the rights and comforts every child is entitled to.

To many, childhood is not a time for enjoying oneself, but a time to engage in hard labour like most adults. Some children live on the streets, begging for a morsel of food because of poverty while others engage in activities that are not at all suitable for them.Hunger, pain, abuse, hard labour are not things any child should be subjected to, but in today's world, most children live constantly in the shadow of these. Sometimes, abused and abandoned by the very adults they depend on for love and protection, many children live miserable lives and grow to be a nuisance to society as adults.

Childhood is precious and what you face in these formative years generally shape your personality and character. So, fight for your rights because you have such rights.

Ensure that other children too enjoy their childhood as any child should!Let the voice of all children be raised in unison on this, your special day for a better world for children to grew up in. Remember those who live in poverty, fear and trauma all over the world and lend a hand to bring some relief to such children.

Universal Children's Day celebrations

Universal Children's Day is an event celebrated on various days in many places around the world. International Children's Day is celebrated on June 1 and Universal Children's Day is on November 20.

The International Children's Day which is on June 1 had its origin in Turkey in 1920 (April 23, 1920) and later in the World Conference for the Well-being of Children in Geneva, Switzerland in 1925. It is not clear as to why June 1 was chosen as the International Children's Day.

Children's Day was first celebrated worldwide in October 1955, under the sponsorship of International Union for Child Welfare in Geneva. It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1954.

On December 14, 1954, the UN General Assembly recommended that all countries should introduce an annual event from 1956 known as Universal Children's Day to encourage fraternity and understanding between children all over the world and promoting the welfare of children.It was also chosen as the day to celebrate childhood.It was recommended that individual countries should choose an appropriate date for this occasion.

Many of the countries respected this recommendation and the Universal Children's Day has since been annually observed on November 20. There are however, some countries, such as Australia, India, and Sri Lanka which celebrate this day on different dates. On November 20, 1959, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and on November 20, 1989, it adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Since 1990, Universal Children's Day also marks the anniversary of the date that the UN General Assembly adopted both the declaration and the convention on children's rights.

Children's Day is one of the oldest UN days, and carries particular significance in the 21st century because of the prominence of children's issues in the Millennium Development Goals.

When it's celebrated in other countries

* South Korean Children's Day falls on May 5 each year.

* In Argentina, Children's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in August.

* Australia celebrates Children's Day on the first Sunday in July every year.

* In Canada "Child Day" is held on November 20 each year as enacted in the 1993 Parliamentary Bill.

* In the People's Republic of China, It is celebrated on June 1

* Germany celebrates Children's Day on June 1

* In India, Children's Day is celebrated on November 14 every year. This date marks the birth anniversary of independent India's first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

* In Japan, Children's Day (Kodomo no Hi) is a national holiday celebrated on May 5.

* In Pakistan, Children's Day is celebrated on November 20. There is no holiday on this day but it is observed by NGO working on Child Rights.

* In Brazil, Children's Day is celebrated on October 12,

* In Hong Kong Children's Day is celebrated on April 4 each year

* United States of America

The celebration of a special Children's Day in America dates from the 1860s and earlier.Children's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of August.

What the convention on the Rights of the Child is

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, often referred to as CRC or UNCRC, is an international convention setting out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children.

Nations that ratify this international convention are bound to it by international law. Compliance is monitored by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child which is composed of members from countries around the world. Once a year, the Committee submits a report to the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, which also hears a statement from the CRC Chair, and the Assembly adopts a Resolution on the Rights of the Child.

Governments of countries that have ratified the Convention are required to report to, and appear before, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child periodically to be examined on their progress with regards to the advancement of the implementation of the Convention and the status of child rights in their country.

Their reports and the committee's written views and concerns are available on the committee's website.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention and opened it for signature on November 20, 1989 (the 30th anniversary of its Declaration of the Rights of the Child).

It came into force on September 2, 1990, after it was ratified by the required number of nations. As of December 2008, 193 countries have ratified it, including every member of the United Nations, except the United States and Somalia. Two optional protocols were adopted on May 25, 2000. The first restricts the involvement of children in military conflicts, and the second prohibits the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Both protocols have been ratified by more than 120 states. The Convention generally defines a child as any human being under the age of 18, unless an earlier age of majority is recognised by a country's law.

Children’s Day is on October 1

Do you know that you have rights as children? These rights which are included in the 1959 UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child (DRC) apply to all children regardless of race, colour, gender, language, religion, political, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Some of these precious rights are...