Today marks the Universal Children's Rights Day. A day to remember that all boys and girls have the same rightsregardless of your gender, nationality, race, religion, education, economic status or sexual orientation. This is recognized in the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child approved on November 20, 1959 by the United Nations General Assembly.
However, this declaration was not sufficient to protect children's rights as it did not imply any legal responsibility for the states that had ratified it. Therefore, after years of negotiations with the governments of different countries, religious leaders and different institutions, the final text that would lead to the Children's rights convention. An international treaty, approved on November 20, 1989, by the United Nations General Assembly. Said treaty includes in its 54 items the basic human rights of girls, boys and adolescents and it is of obligatory application and fulfillment by all the governments that signed it. The convention also includes the responsibility of parents, teachers, health personnel and everyone related to the world of childhood.
The Convention is based on four fundamental principles that uphold all other children's rights. These principles are non-discrimination, the best interests of the child, the right to survival and development and the opinion of the child.
Non-discrimination: All boys and girls have the same rights in all situations, all the time and everywhere.
The child's superior interest: Any decision, law or policy that may affect children has to take into account what is best for children.
The right to life, survival and development: All girls and boys have the right to live and have adequate development, ensuring access to basic services and equal opportunities.
The participation: Minors have the right to be consulted about the situations that affect them and to have their opinions taken into account.
The 54 articles of the convention are summarized in Ten Fundamental Principles which are Obligatory compliance by the nations that ratified it.
Unfortunately, almost 60 years after the Universal Declaration, children's rights continue to be violated. In many cases the violation of these rights is clear and evident, but in many others, it occurs in a subtle and socially accepted way. And it is that children constitute a group especially vulnerable to aggression, generally by adults. Due to their physical and emotional condition, they are the most unprotected victims and exposed to abuse of all kinds, often within the home, their environment or their country. On many occasions, an attempt is made to justify the unjustifiable, for religious, cultural or moral reasons.
What are the most violated rights?
Education rights
Thousands of girls and boys in the world cannot go to school due to the conditions in which they live, war conflicts or because they are forced to work.
Right to health
Many minors in the world die every day from being victims of incurable diseases or from not having access to medicines that could save them.
Right to a nationality
There are countries that do not recognize the origin of children. this makes them invisible to society and unable to enjoy basic civil rights.
Right to decent housing
In many countries, including ours, there are children who cannot enjoy a home. This generates problems of adaptation and insecurity in minors.
Situations that violate children's rights
Labor exploitation
Many children in the world work in dangerous conditions, for endless hours, with hardly any food and little terrifying slavery conditions that cause serious physical and psychological consequences.
Children affected by armed conflict
During a war, children find themselves in serious situations of physical and emotional risk. The loss of family members and other loved ones leaves them in a situation of extreme vulnerability, making it much easier for them to be subjected to all kinds of attacks (rapes, kidnappings, trafficking, recruitment as child soldiers, etc.).
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Every year, thousands of children are kidnapped or sold by their own families to be exploited inside or outside the country. Forms of trafficking may include sexual exploitation, labor and even organ harvesting.
Sexual abuse
Around this issue there is usually a great silence since the victim feels shame and fear. Especially when it is a family member or acquaintance who exercises the abuse. Victims fear rejection and disgrace from their family. In some countries children do not even have the right to testify in court.
Girls tend to be abused more frequently than boys.
Forced early marriage
An estimated 82 million women marry before their 18th birthday. On many occasions, marriage is the fruit of a negotiation between the girl's parents and her fiancé, usually much older than her.
This, in addition to supposing a violation of the best interests of the girl, supposes a series of implications that affect rights such as education, health or physical integrity.
Female genital mutilation
The victims are usually girls between 4 and 14 years old and the operation is usually carried out before marriage or the first child. This practice, in addition to being discriminatory, constitutes a violation of the girl's fundamental rights: right to health, to bodily integrity, to be protected from acts of violence and to freedom of decision about your body.
It is a practice that it is usually carried out in a rudimentary way and without hygienic precautions. Therefore, girls subjected to this intervention are at risk of contracting infections, septicemia, urinary tract infections, pain during sexual intercourse and other physical and emotional complications derived from mutilation.
The invisible violation of children's rights
There are other forms of violation of children's rights. Perhaps not so visible but more subtle and normalized in our society, but equally important and unacceptable. We all have in mind the children of terrible and extreme situations who see the news and we think that our children, accommodated in a society that guarantees them education, health and other needs, have the requirements of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child covered. . But it's not always like this, many situations that occur both at home and at school and that we tend to consider as legal, violate some of these rights. I give you some examples:
Use or advocacy of physical punishment for the sake of education
In Spain, the use of physical punishment is a crime according to the Article 154 of the civil code. Violence, whatever its intensity, does not educate. There is no educational cheek, or miraculous. By using physical punishment, the only thing we are showing is that we have run out of resources to resolve the conflict and, unable to control ourselves, we have vented our anger against the weakest.
"It is the obligation of the State to protect children from all forms of abuse perpetrated by fathers, mothers or any other person" (Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child)
Yelling, ridiculing, or threatening the child
Many times, when children do not behave as we think they should, we resort to yelling, threatening, or ridiculing them. We may not be aware of it, but in these situations children have a hard time, just like we do when in our work or in our environment we do not feel accepted. The difference is that we have or should have the resources to defend ourselves. We also tend to enjoy the empathy of other adults. In children, these actions are considered legal and do not usually feel supported by anyone, Rather the complete opposite. In addition, it must be taken into account that emotional damage can be as damaging or more than physical.
"The child, for the full and harmonious development of his personality, needs love and understanding." (Principle VI of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child)
Not attending to the crying or demands of children
When we apply sleep training methods or ignore their desires to be accompanied, when we do not allow them to express their emotions, we force them to eat without hunger, to control toilet training before time ..., in short, every time we don't respect their biological rhythms and needs, we are violating your rights.
"Whenever possible, they should grow up under the protection and responsibility of their parents and, in any case, in an environment of affection and moral and material security" (Principle VI of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child)
Separating a child from its parents
In some hospitals, newborns are still taken to the nest without any just cause for it. Mothers who undergo a cesarean section in most cases are not allowed to practice skin-to-skin. On the other hand, it is also common that in some health centers, do not let children be accompanied by their parents for certain tests, thus violating the provisions of the European Charter of the Rights of the Hospitalized Child. Separation also occurs when children have to spend long hours in schools and nurseries due to the parents' working conditions and the lack of reconciliation policies that take into account the needs of children.
»Except in exceptional circumstances, the young child should not be separated from its mother» (Principle VI of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child)
Excess schoolwork and punishments
When children come home loaded with homework or are punished without recess, it is violating the right to fully enjoy games and recreation. Most adults have a schedule and we don't usually take our work home with us, with few exceptions. We also enjoy by law our rest time during the workday. If not, we would put our hands to our heads. However, we see normal and justified that a child is deprived of his rest time during the school day or that he comes home with so much homework that it is impossible for him to go out to play or do other activities.
»The child must fully enjoy games and recreation, which must be oriented towards the aims pursued by education; society and public authorities shall endeavor to promote the enjoyment of this right "(Principle VII of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child)
School bullying or bullying
School bullying is a form of physical, verbal or psychological abuse that occurs between minors and repeatedly over time. In many cases, It is not given the importance it requires since it is considered to be children's things and that they will solve it between themselves. However, for the affected child, life can become hell, sometimes even having to change schools. In extreme cases, suicides have occurred.
This is a serious problem that should not be taken lightly. Mothers, fathers and teachers, we are responsible for helping children cope with these situations, as well as for educate them in tolerance and respect for both others and themselves.
«The child must be protected against practices that may promote any type of discrimination. He must be brought up in a spirit of understanding and tolerance in the face of differences. (Principle X of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child)
Decide for the children or disregard their opinions
The children have right to be informed and consulted on the issues that affect them, but the usual thing is that we are the adults we decide them without consulting them.
"Minors have the right to be consulted on situations that affect them and to have their opinions taken into account." (IV Fundamental Principle of the Convention on the Rights of the Child).
The child must be protected against practices that may promote any type of discrimination. He must be brought up in a spirit of understanding and tolerance in the face of differences.