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Children’s Rights in 2019

Universal Children’s Day is celebrated on 20 November each year. It aims to “promote togetherness” and improve children’s welfare. This year will mark the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which established 54 articles that set out children’s rights. The UK ratified the UNCRC in 1991.  According to United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), four “general principles” are fundamental to realising all rights in the UNCRC convention. These are: non-discrimination; best interest of the child; right to life survival and development; and right to be heard. 

This House of Lords Library Briefing provides an overview of recent developments within the UK in terms of children’s rights. It then explores current United Nations (UN) priorities for children’s rights globally, before ending with background information on the UNCRC.