Declaration Of The Rights Of Children Essay

On November 20, 1959 the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted an expanded version of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It was originally drafted by Eglantyne Jebb in 1923 and in 1924, the League of Nations (LON) adopted the Geneva Declaration, a historic document that recognised and affirmed for the first time the existence of rights specific to children and the responsibility of adults towards children. The Declaration has 10 principles that universally recognizes children as human beings who must be treated equally and provided with education, health-care, and basic needs like nutrition and housing.

I think the declaration of the rights of the child was put in place because children in the past had no rights and had no voice or say in their lives like the ``Seen and not heard``children in the novel Stuck Fast in Yesterday. They could be abused, exploited and made to work at a very young age as there were no rules. But now, the Declaration recognizes that children are vulnerable and makes sure that our parents and guardians are responsible for providing us with the basic needs of life, education and protection from harm. I believe that the declaration is definitely a positive proclamation for children’s rights.

According to principle 2, children should be protected and given the freedom to develop physically and mentally. Also children have the right to education and those with special needs should also be given special care and treatment. We also have the right to love and understanding and to be protected from racial, religious and any other forms of discrimination. Therefore we should treat each other with equality and we should not bully other children or judge them because of their racial, social or religious