“The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the child.
Everyone in the U.K, including children and young people, have rights that are recognised and protected. These rights are granted by legislation, for example, Human right legislation, The Children Act, etc, which have evolved from a variety of sources. One of these sources is The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the child. Before this was adopted any laws relating to the care and protection of children and young people gave all rights to the child’s parents to do as they felt fit.
The Convention on the Rights of the child is an international treaty which has been adopted by the U.K. It was approved by the general assembly of the United Nations on 20 November 1989 and it set out principles relating to children (this includes all children and young people under 18). The U.K government agreed to be bound by the convention in 1991 and it underpins all childcare practice. The convention is made up of a series of articles on Rights. The wording of these articles is at times dated and so the terminology, in some cases, is now not appropriate. However, the principles are still important. The articles are divided into 3 groups –
*basic principles which apply to all rights: these cover non-discrimination on grounds of gender, religion, disability, language, other opinion, ethnic or social origin. The best interests of the child are always to be considered by adults and organisations when making decisions about children. The child’s view is to be heard and taken seriously.
*Civil and political rights: these include rights to a name and nationality, access to information and protection from abuse, neglect, torture or the deprivation of liberty.
*Economic, social, cultural and protective rights: these include rights to life and opportunities, a decent standard of living, day to day care, health care and a healthy environment, education and