THESE ARE YOUR RIGHTS

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In 1989, governments across the world promised all children
the same rights by adopting the UN Convention on the Rights of
the Child. The Convention says what countries must do so that
all children grow as healthy as possible, can learn at school,
are protected, have their views listened to, and are treated
fairly. These are our rights.
Passport to your Rights

NAME

ADDRESS

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 THESE ARE YOUR RIGHTS

Article 1
For the purposes of the present Convention, a child means every
human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the
law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.

Article 2
1. States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in
the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction
without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child’s
or his or her parent’s or legal guardian’s race, colour, sex,
language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or
social origin, property, disability, birth or other status.

2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure

that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination
or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed
opinions, or beliefs of the child’s parents, legal guardians, or
family members.

Article 3
1. In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public
or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative
authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child
shall be a primary consideration.
2. States Parties undertake to ensure the child such protection
and care as is necessary for his or her well-being, taking
into account the rights and duties of his or her parents, legal
guardians, or other individuals legally responsible for him or
her, and, to this end, shall take all appropriate legislative and
administrative measures.
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3. States Parties shall ensure that the institutions, services and

facilities responsible for the care or protection of children
shall conform with the standards established by competent
authorities, particularly in the areas of safety, health, in the
number and suitability of their staff, as well as competent
supervision.

Article 4
States Parties shall undertake all appropriate legislative,
administrative, and other measures for the implementation of
the rights recognized in the present Convention. With regard to
economic, social and cultural rights, States Parties shall undertake
such measures to the maximum extent of their available resources
and, where needed, within the framework of international co-
operation.

Article 5
States Parties shall respect the responsibilities, rights and duties of
parents or, where applicable, the members of the extended family
or community as provided for by local custom, legal guardians
or other persons legally responsible for the child, to provide, in
a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child,
appropriate direction and guidance in the exercise by the child of
the rights recognized in the present Convention.

Article 6
1. States Parties recognize that every child has the inherent right
to life.
2. States Parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the
survival and development of the child.
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Article 7
1. The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall
have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a
nationality and. as far as possible, the right to know and be
cared for by his or her parents.
2. States Parties shall ensure the implementation of these rights in
accordance with their national law and their obligations under
the relevant international instruments in this field, in particular
where the child would otherwise be stateless.

Article 8
1. States Parties undertake to respect the right of the child to
preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name and family
relations as recognized by law without unlawful interference.
2. Where a child is illegally deprived of some or all of the elements
of his or her identity, States Parties shall provide appropriate
assistance and protection, with a view to re-establishing
speedily his or her identity.

Article 9
1. States Parties shall ensure that a child shall not be separated
from his or her parents against their will, except when
competent authorities subject to judicial review determine, in
accordance with applicable law and procedures, that such
separation is necessary for the best interests of the child. Such
determination may be necessary in a particular case such as
one involving abuse or neglect of the child by the parents, or
one where the parents are living separately and a decision
must be made as to the child’s place of residence.

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2. In any proceedings pursuant to paragraph 1 of the present

article, all interested parties shall be given an opportunity to
participate in the proceedings and make their views known.
3. States Parties shall respect the right of the child who is
separated from one or both parents to maintain personal
relations and direct contact with both parents on a regular
basis, except if it is contrary to the child’s best interests.
4. Where such separation results from any action initiated by
a State Party, such as the detention, imprisonment, exile,
deportation or death (including death arising from any cause
while the person is in the custody of the State) of one or both
parents or of the child, that State Party shall, upon request,
provide the parents, the child or, if appropriate, another member
of the family with the essential information concerning the
whereabouts of the absent member(s) of the family unless the
provision of the information would be detrimental to the well-
being of the child. States Parties shall further ensure that the
submission of such a request shall of itself entail no adverse
consequences for the person(s) concerned.

Article 10
1. In accordance with the obligation of States Parties under article 9,
paragraph 1, applications by a child or his or her parents to enter or
leave a State Party for the purpose of family reunification shall be
dealt with by States Parties in a positive, humane and expeditious
manner. States Parties shall further ensure that the submission
of such a request shall entail no adverse consequences for the
applicants and for the members of their family.

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2. A child whose parents reside in different States shall have

the right to maintain on a regular basis, save in exceptional
circumstances personal relations and direct contacts with
both parents. Towards that end and in accordance with the
obligation of States Parties under article 9, paragraph 1, States
Parties shall respect the right of the child and his or her parents
to leave any country, including their own, and to enter their own
country. The right to leave any country shall be subject only
to such restrictions as are prescribed by law and which are
necessary to protect the national security, public order (ordre
public), public health or morals or the rights and freedoms of
others and are consistent with the other rights recognized in
the present Convention.

Article 11
1. States Parties shall take measures to combat the illicit transfer
and non-return of children abroad.
2. To this end, States Parties shall promote the conclusion of
bilateral or multilateral agreements or accession to existing
agreements.

Article 12
1. States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of
forming his or her own views the right to express those views
freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child
being given due weight in accordance with the age and
maturity of the child.
2. For this purpose, the child shall in particular be provided the
opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative

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proceedings affecting the child, either directly, or through a

representative or an appropriate body, in a manner consistent
with the procedural rules of national law.

Article 13
1. The child shall have the right to freedom of expression;
this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either
orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any
other media of the child’s choice.
2. The exercise of this right may be subject to certain restrictions,
but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are
necessary:
a. For respect of the rights or reputations of others; or
b. For the protection of national security or of public order
(ordre public), or of public health or morals.

Article 14
1. States Parties shall respect the right of the child to freedom of
thought, conscience and religion.
2. States Parties shall respect the rights and duties of the parents
and, when applicable, legal guardians, to provide direction
to the child in the exercise of his or her right in a manner
consistent with the evolving capacities of the child.
3. Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs may be subject
only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are
necessary to protect public safety, order, health or morals, or
the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.

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Article 15
1. States Parties recognize the rights of the child to freedom of
association and to freedom of peaceful assembly.
2. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of these rights
other than those imposed in conformity with the law and
which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of
national security or public safety, public order (ordre public),
the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the
rights and freedoms of others.

Article 16
1. No child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference
with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to
unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation.
2. The child has the right to the protection of the law against such
interference or attacks.

Article 17
States Parties recognize the important function performed by
the mass media and shall ensure that the child has access
to information and material from a diversity of national and
international sources, especially those aimed at the promotion of
his or her social, spiritual and moral well-being and physical and
mental health.
To this end, States Parties shall:
a. Encourage the mass media to disseminate information and
material of social and cultural benefit to the child and in
accordance with the spirit of article 29;

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b. Encourage international co-operation in the production,

exchange and dissemination of such information and material
from a diversity of cultural, national and international sources;
c. Encourage the production and dissemination of children’s
books;
d. Encourage the mass media to have particular regard to the
linguistic needs of the child who belongs to a minority group or
who is indigenous;
e. Encourage the development of appropriate guidelines for the
protection of the child from information and material injurious to
his or her well-being, bearing in mind the provisions of articles
13 and 18.

Article 18
1. States Parties shall use their best efforts to ensure recognition
of the principle that both parents have common responsibilities
for the upbringing and development of the child. Parents
or, as the case may be, legal guardians, have the primary
responsibility for the upbringing and development of the child.
The best interests of the child will be their basic concern.
2. For the purpose of guaranteeing and promoting the rights set
forth in the present Convention, States Parties shall render
appropriate assistance to parents and legal guardians in the
performance of their child-rearing responsibilities and shall
ensure the development of institutions, facilities and services
for the care of children.
3. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure
that children of working parents have the right to benefit from
child-care services and facilities for which they are eligible.

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Article 19
1. States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative,
social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms
of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent
treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse,
while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person
who has the care of the child.
2. Such protective measures should, as appropriate, include
effective procedures for the establishment of social
programmes to provide necessary support for the child and
for those who have the care of the child, as well as for other
forms of prevention and for identification, reporting, referral,
investigation, treatment and follow-up of instances of child
maltreatment described heretofore, and, as appropriate, for
judicial involvement.

Article 20
1. A child temporarily or permanently deprived of his or her family
environment, or in whose own best interests cannot be allowed
to remain in that environment, shall be entitled to special
protection and assistance provided by the State.
2. States Parties shall in accordance with their national laws
ensure alternative care for such a child.
3. Such care could include, inter alia, foster placement, kafalah
of Islamic law, adoption or if necessary placement in suitable
institutions for the care of children. When considering
solutions, due regard shall be paid to the desirability of
continuity in a child’s upbringing and to the child’s ethnic,
religious, cultural and linguistic background.

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Article 21
States Parties that recognize and/or permit the system of adoption
shall ensure that the best interests of the child shall be the
paramount consideration and they shall:
a. Ensure that the adoption of a child is authorized only by
competent authorities who determine, in accordance with
applicable law and procedures and on the basis of all pertinent
and reliable information, that the adoption is permissible in view
of the child’s status concerning parents, relatives and legal
guardians and that, if required, the persons concerned have
given their informed consent to the adoption on the basis of
such counselling as may be necessary;
b. Recognize that inter-country adoption may be considered as an
alternative means of child’s care, if the child cannot be placed
in a foster or an adoptive family or cannot in any suitable
manner be cared for in the child’s country of origin;
c. Ensure that the child concerned by inter-country adoption
enjoys safeguards and standards equivalent to those existing in
the case of national adoption;
d. Take all appropriate measures to ensure that, in inter-country
adoption, the placement does not result in improper financial
gain for those involved in it;
e. Promote, where appropriate, the objectives of the present
article by concluding bilateral or multilateral arrangements or
agreements, and endeavour, within this framework, to ensure
that the placement of the child in another country is carried out
by competent authorities or organs.

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Article 22
1. States Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure that
a child who is seeking refugee status or who is considered
a refugee in accordance with applicable international or
domestic law and procedures shall, whether unaccompanied
or accompanied by his or her parents or by any other person,
receive appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance
in the enjoyment of applicable rights set forth in the present
Convention and in other international human rights or
humanitarian instruments to which the said States are Parties.
2. For this purpose, States Parties shall provide, as they consider
appropriate, co-operation in any efforts by the United Nations
and other competent intergovernmental organizations or
non-governmental organizations co-operating with the United
Nations to protect and assist such a child and to trace the
parents or other members of the family of any refugee child
in order to obtain information necessary for reunification with
his or her family. In cases where no parents or other members
of the family can be found, the child shall be accorded the
same protection as any other child permanently or temporarily
deprived of his or her family environment for any reason , as set
forth in the present Convention.

Article 23
1. States Parties recognize that a mentally or physically disabled
child should enjoy a full and decent life, in conditions which
ensure dignity, promote self-reliance and facilitate the child’s
active participation in the community.

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2. States Parties recognize the right of the disabled child to

special care and shall encourage and ensure the extension,
subject to available resources, to the eligible child and those
responsible for his or her care, of assistance for which
application is made and which is appropriate to the child’s
condition and to the circumstances of the parents or others
caring for the child.
3. Recognizing the special needs of a disabled child, assistance
extended in accordance with paragraph 2 of the present article
shall be provided free of charge, whenever possible, taking into
account the financial resources of the parents or others caring
for the child, and shall be designed to ensure that the disabled
child has effective access to and receives education, training,
health care services, rehabilitation services, preparation
for employment and recreation opportunities in a manner
conducive to the child’s achieving the fullest possible social
integration and individual development, including his or her
cultural and spiritual development
4. States Parties shall promote, in the spirit of international
cooperation, the exchange of appropriate information in the
field of preventive health care and of medical, psychological
and functional treatment of disabled children, including
dissemination of and access to information concerning
methods of rehabilitation, education and vocational services,
with the aim of enabling States Parties to improve their
capabilities and skills and to widen their experience in these
areas. In this regard, particular account shall be taken of the
needs of developing countries.

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Article 24
1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to the enjoyment
of the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities
for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health. States
Parties shall strive to ensure that no child is deprived of his or
her right of access to such health care services.
2. States Parties shall pursue full implementation of this right and,
in particular, shall take appropriate measures:
a. To diminish infant and child mortality;
b. To ensure the provision of necessary medical assistance
and health care to all children with emphasis on the
development of primary health care;
c. To combat disease and malnutrition, including within the
framework of primary health care, through, inter alia, the
application of readily available technology and through the
provision of adequate nutritious foods and clean drinking-
water, taking into consideration the dangers and risks of
environmental pollution;
d. To ensure appropriate pre-natal and post-natal health care
for mothers;
e. To ensure that all segments of society, in particular parents
and children, are informed, have access to education and
are supported in the use of basic knowledge of child health
and nutrition, the advantages of breastfeeding, hygiene and
environmental sanitation and the prevention of accidents;
f. To develop preventive health care, guidance for parents and
family planning education and services.
3. States Parties shall take all effective and appropriate measures
with a view to abolishing traditional practices prejudicial to the
health of children.
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4. States Parties undertake to promote and encourage

international co-operation with a view to achieving
progressively the full realization of the right recognized in the
present article. In this regard, particular account shall be taken
of the needs of developing countries.

Article 25
States Parties recognize the right of a child who has been placed
by the competent authorities for the purposes of care, protection
or treatment of his or her physical or mental health, to a periodic
review of the treatment provided to the child and all other
circumstances relevant to his or her placement.

Article 26
1. States Parties shall recognize for every child the right to benefit
from social security, including social insurance, and shall take
the necessary measures to achieve the full realization of this
right in accordance with their national law.
2. The benefits should, where appropriate, be granted, taking into
account the resources and the circumstances of the child and
persons having responsibility for the maintenance of the child,
as well as any other consideration relevant to an application for
benefits made by or on behalf of the child.

Article 27
1. States Parties recognize the right of every child to a standard of
living adequate for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral
and social development.

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2. The parent(s) or others responsible for the child have the

primary responsibility to secure, within their abilities and
financial capacities, the conditions of living necessary for the
child’s development.
3. States Parties, in accordance with national conditions and within
their means, shall take appropriate measures to assist parents and
others responsible for the child to implement this right and shall in
case of need provide material assistance and support programmes,
particularly with regard to nutrition, clothing and housing.
4. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to secure the
recovery of maintenance for the child from the parents or other
persons having financial responsibility for the child, both within
the State Party and from abroad. In particular, where the person
having financial responsibility for the child lives in a State
different from that of the child, States Parties shall promote
the accession to international agreements or the conclusion of
such agreements, as well as the making of other appropriate
arrangements.

Article 28
1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to education,
and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the
basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular:
a. Make primary education compulsory and available free to all;
b. Encourage the development of different forms of secondary
education, including general and vocational education,
make them available and accessible to every child, and
take appropriate measures such as the introduction of free
education and offering financial assistance in case of need;

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c. Make higher education accessible to all on the basis of

capacity by every appropriate means;
d. Make educational and vocational information and guidance
available and accessible to all children;
e. Take measures to encourage regular attendance at schools
and the reduction of drop-out rates.
2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure
that school discipline is administered in a manner consistent
with the child’s human dignity and in conformity with the
present Convention.
3. States Parties shall promote and encourage international
cooperation in matters relating to education, in particular
with a view to contributing to the elimination of ignorance
and illiteracy throughout the world and facilitating access
to scientific and technical knowledge and modern teaching
methods. In this regard, particular account shall be taken of the
needs of developing countries.

Article 29
1. States Parties agree that the education of the child shall be
directed to:
a. The development of the child’s personality, talents and
mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential;
b. The development of respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms, and for the principles enshrined in
the Charter of the United Nations;
c. The development of respect for the child’s parents, his
or her own cultural identity, language and values, for the
national values of the country in which the child is living,

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the country from which he or she may originate, and for

civilizations different from his or her own;
d. The preparation of the child for responsible life in a free
society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance,
equality of sexes, and friendship among all peoples, ethnic,
national and religious groups and persons of indigenous
origin;
e. The development of respect for the natural environment.
2. No part of the present article or article 28 shall be construed
so as to interfere with the liberty of individuals and bodies to
establish and direct educational institutions, subject always to
the observance of the principle set forth in paragraph 1 of the
present article and to the requirements that the education given
in such institutions shall conform to such minimum standards
as may be laid down by the State.

Article 30
In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities
or persons of indigenous origin exist, a child belonging to such
a minority or who is indigenous shall not be denied the right, in
community with other members of his or her group, to enjoy his or
her own culture, to profess and practise his or her own religion, or
to use his or her own language.

Article 31
1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to rest and
leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate
to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life
and the arts.

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2. States Parties shall respect and promote the right of the child to
participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage
the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for
cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity.

Article 32
1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to be protected
from economic exploitation and from performing any work
that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s
education, or to be harmful to the child’s health or physical,
mental, spiritual, moral or social development.
2. States Parties shall take legislative, administrative, social and
educational measures to ensure the implementation of the
present article. To this end, and having regard to the relevant
provisions of other international instruments, States Parties
shall in particular:
a. Provide for a minimum age or minimum ages for admission
to employment;
b. Provide for appropriate regulation of the hours and
conditions of employment;
c. Provide for appropriate penalties or other sanctions to
ensure the effective enforcement of the present article.

Article 33
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures, including
legislative, administrative, social and educational measures,
to protect children from the illicit use of narcotic drugs and
psychotropic substances as defined in the relevant international
treaties, and to prevent the use of children in the illicit production
and trafficking of such substances.
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Article 34
States Parties undertake to protect the child from all forms of
sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. For these purposes, States
Parties shall in particular take all appropriate national, bilateral and
multilateral measures to prevent:
a. The inducement or coercion of a child to engage in any
unlawful sexual activity;
b. The exploitative use of children in prostitution or other unlawful
sexual practices;
c. The exploitative use of children in pornographic performances
and materials.

Article 35
States Parties shall take all appropriate national, bilateral and
multilateral measures to prevent the abduction of, the sale of or
traffic in children for any purpose or in any form.

Article 36
States Parties shall protect the child against all other forms of
exploitation prejudicial to any aspects of the child’s welfare.

Article 37
States Parties shall ensure that:
a. No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment. Neither capital punishment
nor life imprisonment without possibility of release shall be
imposed for offences committed by persons below eighteen
years of age;

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b. No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or

arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child
shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a
measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period
of time;
c. Every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity
and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and in
a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his
or her age. In particular, every child deprived of liberty shall be
separated from adults unless it is considered in the child’s best
interest not to do so and shall have the right to maintain contact
with his or her family through correspondence and visits, save
in exceptional circumstances;
d. Every child deprived of his or her liberty shall have the right
to prompt access to legal and other appropriate assistance,
as well as the right to challenge the legality of the deprivation
of his or her liberty before a court or other competent,
independent and impartial authority, and to a prompt decision
on any such action.

Article 38
1. States Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for
rules of international humanitarian law applicable to them in
armed conflicts which are relevant to the child.
2. States Parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure that
persons who have not attained the age of fifteen years do not
take a direct part in hostilities.

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3. States Parties shall refrain from recruiting any person who has
not attained the age of fifteen years into their armed forces.
In recruiting among those persons who have attained the age
of fifteen years but who have not attained the age of eighteen
years, States Parties shall endeavour to give priority to those
who are oldest.
4. In accordance with their obligations under international
humanitarian law to protect the civilian population in armed
conflicts, States Parties shall take all feasible measures to
ensure protection and care of children who are affected by an
armed conflict.

Article 39
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to promote
physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of a
child victim of: any form of neglect, exploitation, or abuse; torture
or any other form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment; or armed conflicts. Such recovery and reintegration
shall take place in an environment which fosters the health, self-
respect and dignity of the child.

Article 40
1. States Parties recognize the right of every child alleged as,
accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law
to be treated in a manner consistent with the promotion of the
child’s sense of dignity and worth, which reinforces the child’s
respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of
others and which takes into account the child’s age and the

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desirability of promoting the child’s reintegration and the child’s

assuming a constructive role in society.
2. To this end, and having regard to the relevant provisions of
international instruments, States Parties shall, in particular,
ensure that:
a. No child shall be alleged as, be accused of, or recognized
as having infringed the penal law by reason of acts
or omissions that were not prohibited by national or
international law at the time they were committed;
b. Every child alleged as or accused of having infringed the
penal law has at least the following guarantees:
i. To be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law;
ii. To be informed promptly and directly of the charges against him
or her, and, if appropriate, through his or her parents or legal
guardians, and to have legal or other appropriate assistance in
the preparation and presentation of his or her defence;
iii. To have the matter determined without delay by a
competent, independent and impartial authority or judicial
body in a fair hearing according to law, in the presence
of legal or other appropriate assistance and, unless it is
considered not to be in the best interest of the child, in
particular, taking into account his or her age or situation, his
or her parents or legal guardians;
iv. Not to be compelled to give testimony or to confess guilt; to
examine or have examined adverse witnesses and to obtain
the participation and examination of witnesses on his or her
behalf under conditions of equality;

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v. If considered to have infringed the penal law, to have

this decision and any measures imposed in consequence
thereof reviewed by a higher competent, independent and
impartial authority or judicial body according to law;
vi. To have the free assistance of an interpreter if the child
cannot understand or speak the language used;
vii. To have his or her privacy fully respected at all stages of the
proceedings.
3. States Parties shall seek to promote the establishment of laws,
procedures, authorities and institutions specifically applicable
to children alleged as, accused of, or recognized as having
infringed the penal law, and, in particular:
a. The establishment of a minimum age below which children
shall be presumed not to have the capacity to infringe the
penal law;
b. Whenever appropriate and desirable, measures for dealing
with such children without resorting to judicial proceedings,
providing that human rights and legal safeguards are
fully respected. 4. A variety of dispositions, such as care,
guidance and supervision orders; counselling; probation;
foster care; education and vocational training programmes
and other alternatives to institutional care shall be
available to ensure that children are dealt with in a manner
appropriate to their well-being and proportionate both to
their circumstances and the offence.

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Article 41
Nothing in the present Convention shall affect any provisions which
are more conducive to the realization of the rights of the child and
which may be contained in:
a. The law of a State party; or
b. International law in force for that State.

Article 42
States Parties undertake to make the principles and provisions of
the Convention widely known, by appropriate and active means, to
adults and children alike.

The Convention has 54 Articles in total. Articles 43–54

are about how adults and governments work together
to make sure that all children get all their rights.

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