Children’s Rights Day (also known as Universal Children’s Day) is celebrated internationally on 20 November, the day on which the United Nations adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959), followed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). More than 190 countries have adhered to the Declaration and celebrate its anniversary with the aim of promoting the welfare of all the world’s children.
But in spite of universal agreement that the rights of children need to be safeguarded, today many children and adolescents are still the victims of violence, abuse and discrimination. Many others are marginalized or live in conditions of extreme neglect.
Nevertheless the UN Declaration remains a constant reminder to everyone to protect and reflect on the basic rights of the youngest members of the human family and to find new ways to tackle the abuses perpetrated against them.