The Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict.They are called “Optional Protocols” and include:

The Convention also contains a number of agreements to add further, unique rights for children that are optional for countries. The Convention came into force in the UK in 1992. All UN member states except for the United States have ratified the Convention. The Convention is also the most widely ratified human rights treaty in the world. We are the only o rganisation working for children r ecognised by the Convention. The right to relax and play (Article 31) and the right to freedom of expression (Article 13) have equal importance as the right to be safe from violence (Article 19) and the right to education (Article 28). The Convention must be seen as a whole: all the rights are linked and no right is more important than another. It also explains how adults and governments must work together to make sure all children can enjoy all their rights.Įvery child has rights “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” (Article 2). The Convention has 54 articles that cover all aspects of a child’s life and set out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that all children everywhere are entitled to. It is the most complete statement of children’s rights ever produced and is the most widely-ratified international human rights treaty in history. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is the basis of all of our work.

Un declaration of human rights