World Children’s Day celebrates ‘every child with every right’

By Sr. Florina Joseph SCN

Every year, November 20 marks World Children’s Day, a global event aimed at raising awareness about children’s rights, fostering international unity, and improving their welfare.

World Children’s Day, first established in 1954, also marks the anniversary of the date when the UN General Assembly adopted both the Declaration and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The UN invites people from all walks of life, including children themselves, to play an important role in creating societies, communities, and nations where children can live in peace and harmony.

“We celebrate the youngest members of our human family,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, as he recognized the enormous challenges children face in a deeply divided, tumultuous, and often violent world.

World Children’s Day offers each person an opportunity to celebrate children’s rights and create spaces conducive to their growth.

Global day of action

This celebration is not just symbolic; it is a rallying call for action and accountability.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) declares this day as the "Global Day of Action" for children and by children, signifying the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which contains the ethical principles and legal standards of behaviour toward children.

“Child rights are human rights,” the UN asserts, emphasizing that they are universal, non-negotiable, and fundamental to the progress of any society.

In a world where children’s rights are being disregarded and denied, the UN emphasizes listening to children to understand their needs and ideas through their right of self-expression, and including their priorities in our actions today.

The rights of children

Considering the situation across the world, millions of children succumb to malnutrition and diseases, while countless others become victims of abuse, exploitation, violence, and war. The UN also noted that many girls lack access to quality education.

UNICEF and other UN agencies strive to uphold the rights of children by supporting programs that provide education, counselling, and care to children working in hazardous or abusive conditions and by vigorously advocating against the violation of their rights.