Transcript Η ΣΥΜΒΑΣΗ ΓΙΑ ΤΑ ΔΙΚΑΙΩΜΑΤΑ ΤΟΥ ΠΑΙΔΙΟΥ

The UN
Convention
on
the Rights of the Child
From
The Cyprus Children’s Parliament and
The Pancyprian Coordinating Committee for the Protection and
Welfare of Children
Original version in Greek by Kyriacos Pastides
Important dates
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19th century: No collective responsibility towards
children (exploitation, child labor, social and
economic discrimination)
1924 : The Geneva Declaration on the Rights of the
Child is adopted
1959: The UN Declaration on the Rights of the
Child is adopted (a moral framework of no
legislative value)
1979 : The International Year for Children
(discussions on a forthcoming Convention begin)
1989 : The UN General Assembly unanimously
votes for the adoption of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child
General points
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is
the first legal binding document recognising the
individual rights of children all over the world.
In its 54 articles, it sets the fundamental
requisites for the protection and welfare of
children. It was unanimously adopted by the
UN General Assembly on the 20th November
1989 and put into effect in 1990. Almost all UN
Member States, including Cyprus, have ratified
the Convention.
1990 A year to
remember!...
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Within the November 1990
Children’s Week, thousands of
Cypriot children of all ages
participated in a rally through
Nicosia streets to the Parliament
building, demanding the
immediate ratification of the UN
Convention on the Rights of the
Child. A month later, the
Republic of Cyprus ratified the
Convention.
So, Cyprus …
Ratified the UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child in
December 1990
with the #243 Law of 1990.
When a state ratifies an international
convention it becomes automatically
obliged to amend its legislation in
such a way as to ensure full
compliance with its provisions. It
should be noted that ratified
international conventions are placed
above national legislations.
The preamble:
State parties
Considering that recognizing the
dignity and equal and
inseparable rights for all is a
foundation to freedom, justice
and peace in the world
Taking into consideration
That all peoples decided to
promote social progress and
better living conditions
Recognizing
That the United Nations proclaimed
and agreed that each and every
individual is entitled to enjoy all
rights regardless of race, color,
gender, language, religion , political
or other convictions
Reminding
That children are entitled to
special aid and support
Convinced
That the family should have the
necessary protection and
support in order to be able to
fulfill its community role
Recognizing
That in order for children to
harmoniously develop their
personality they should be raised in
a family setting within a climate of
happiness, love and understanding
Feeling
That it is important to prepare the
child to live an independent
personal life within society and
with the ideals of peace, dignity,
tolerance, freedom, equality and
solidarity
Taking into consideration
That the need to give children special
protection was mentioned in the
Geneva Declaration of 1924 and that
children, because of their physical and
mental immaturity, need special
protection and care along with
adequate legal protection both before
and after birth
Reminding
The special mention of placement
into care or for adoption and the
rules, regulations and procedures
governing such cases
Recognizing
That in each and every country of
the world there exist children who
live under very difficult conditions
and that special attention should be
given to these particular children
Taking into serious account
The importance of cultural
heritage and tradition in the
protection and development of
children
Recognizing
The importance of international
cooperation for the improvement
of children’s life conditions in all
countries, especially the ones under
development
Member States
The four principles
The Convention states that all
individuals under 18 years of age
are considered to be children. It is
based on four basic principles:
The Principle of the Right to Survival
2. The Principle of the Right to Protection
3. The Principle of the Right to Life,
Evolution and Development
4. The Principle of the Right to Respect
Children’s Views and the Right to
Participation
1.
1. The Right to Survival
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Covering the right to life
and the basic needs for a
child’s survival: adequate
life conditions, a house,
adequate food, clean
water and medical care.
2. The Rights to
Protection
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They demand that children are
protected from all forms of
abuse, neglect or exploitation.
They cover cases such as
refugee children, tortured
children, children in various
institutions, child soldiers, child
labour, drug abuse and sexual
exploitation and they demand
special protection and care.
3. The Rights to
Development
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They include everything that
children need in order o
develop their full capacities
and abilities. For example,
the right to play and
recreation, the right to
education, the right to
cultural life, the right to
access information, the right
to freedom of thought and
religion.
4. The Rights to
Participation
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They allow children to
play an active role in their
societies and their
nations. They include the
right to free expression of
opinion, the right to
comment on issues
concerning them and
their life, the right to
participate in all kinds of
cultural events, the right
to organize.
The Articles
The UN Convention on the Rights
of the Child comprises 54 Articles
that could be divided into three
parts
PART ONE
 1. Definition
 2. Discriminations
 3. Care
 4. The Member State
 5. Parental Support
 6. Survival and Development
 7. Name and Nationality
 8. Identity
 9. Life with Parents
 10. Family reunion
11. Abduction / Detainment
 12. Freedom of Opinion
 13. Freedom of Expression
 14. Freedom of Thought and
Religion
 15. Freedom to organize
 16. Personal Life
 17. Access to Information
 18. Parental Responsibility
 19. Abuse / Neglect
 20. Protection / Orphans
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21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
Adoption
Refugee Children
Children with Special Needs
Health and Health Services
Reconsidering Care
Social Services
Standard of Life
Education
Educational targets
Minority Children
Play and Recreation
32.
 33.
 34.
 35.
 36.
 37.
 38.
 39.
 40.
 41.
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Child labour
Protection from drugs
Sexual exploitation
Child trafficking
Other forms of exploitation
Torture and loss of freedom
Armed conflicts and War
Inclusion - rehabilitation
Justice
Recognition
Article 12
State Parties guarantee to any
child that has the ability to judge,
the right to free expression of his
opinion on any issue relevant to
him, taking into consideration the
child’s age and maturity.
Article 13
The child has the right to free
expression. This right includes the
freedom to seek, gather and
disseminate information and ideas
of any kind and on any issue,
irrespective of borders, either in
oral or written or printed or artistic
form or in any other form of his
choice.
Article 16
No child could be subject to
arbitrary or illegal interference in
his private life, in his family, in his
home or in his correspondence nor
could he be subject to arbitrary or
illegal insults of his reputation and
honour.
Article 19
State Parties take all necessary legal,
administrative, social and educational
measures to protect the child from any
form of violence, insult, corporal or
mental
punishment,
abandonment,
neglect, abuse or exploitation – including
sexual abuse and exploitation – at all
times, be him under the care of both or
one parent or in custody or under the
care of a legal representative or any other
person to whom his care was entrusted.
Article 30
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In countries where ethnic or religious
minorities or indigenous peoples exist,
an indigenous child or a child of any
minority could not be denied the right
to his own cultural life, the right to
believe and exercise his own religion or
the right to use his on language along
with the other members of his group.
Article 32
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State Parties recognize the right of
the child to be protected from
economic exploitation and from
any
labour
that
could
be
dangerous to his life, to his
education, to his health – corporal,
mental, psychological or moral –
or to his social development.
PART TWO
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Implementation and Monitoring:
Articles 42 to 45.
They define the monitoring mechanism
for
the
implementation
of
the
Convention and a relevant body is
instituted for this purpose, the UN
Committee on Children’s Rights.
PART THREE
POSSIBLE AMENDMENTS:
ARTICLES 46 to 54
They include regulations on
possible future amendments to
any article of the Convention.
According to the UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child, students have the
following rights:
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The right to free expression of their opinion
The right to disagree with the official opinion of the
Ministry, the Headmaster, the Professor or Teacher
The right to freely disseminate ideas or information
within the school, in written or oral form
The right to freely hand flyers, announcements,
magazines or other printed material to fellow
students within the school
The right to freely organize, rally or protest without
anybody having the right to interfere or stop them
The right to participate and the right to have their
opinion respected in all issues and decisions that
directly or indirectly affect them in respect to the
school system, regulations or administration
According to the Convention
In the Family
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All members are equal regardless their age
Children have the right to express their opinion and that
opinion should be heard and respected
Children have the right to deny to follow an order given by
the parents if they feel it would be harmful to their best
interest or if it insults their beliefs or convictions
Children have the right to demand good life conditions and
family serenity
Children have the right to chose family activities
In the case of divorce, children have the right to chose
where and with which parent they wish to stay
All these are valid given that:
Any action taken as a result of the
implementation of the UN Convention on
the Rights of the Child, is not contrary to
national legislation of a democratic
society, is not threatening to national
interest or national security or public
order or public health or public morals
or the rights an freedoms of other
citizens.
Why is the Convention
important?
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It is the first legally binding document on Children’s
Rights
Failure to implement the Convention results in legal
consequences and penalties
It is universally recognized and accepted
Almost all countries in the world have ratified it and
try to conform by amending their legislation
State Parties are monitored by special Committees
and Institutions
Who monitors the implementation in
Cyprus?
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The Office of the Ombudsperson for the
Protection of Children’s Rights
In cooperation with the Pancyprian
Coordinating Committee for the Protection
and Welfare of Children (PCCPWC)
The Un Convention on the Rights of
the Child EXISTS!
Is it implemented?
Is the implementation monitored
properly?
Do children know and demand their
rights?
What is the State’s responsibility?
What is the Children’s Parliament
responsibility?
What is YOUR responsibility?
THINK ABOUT IT!!!
Oooooh! Is
it not over
yet?
I’m so
sleepy…
ΟΚ
Got the
message!
Any way… thanks
for your patience!
THE CYPRUS CHILDREN’S
PARLIAMENT
Oh!
Enough!!
Hey… I’m
bored!