The Convention on the Rights of the Child (usually abbreviated to “the CRC”) is a set of rules about the human rights of children. Almost all countries in the world have agreed to follow the CRC. The rules in the CRC include that all children are equal, that all children have the right to think and say what they want to, and that all children should be protected from violence.

What are human rights?

All human beings have human rights, like the right to live and eat enough food, not be discriminated against, and thinking and believing whatever they want. There are other conventions and documents that detail the rules for everyone’s human rights. The CRC exists because children are a group of people in need of extra protection, which is why it’s important to focus a bit extra on the rights of children. Everyone under the age of 18 is considered a child in the CRC. Everyone is born with human rights, and you don’t have to do anything to have them. Simply put, the rules of the CRC apply to every child in the world.

Vem har bestämt reglerna?

The full name of the CRC is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. So it’s the member countries of the United Nations (the UN) that have decided to create and follow the CRC. Every country in the world, except for the USA, has signed the convention.

What do the rules mean?

The CRC is divided into 54 articles, and the first 42 are the most important for children themselves. Here are some examples of important articles from the CRC and what they mean.

Article 2

All children have all these rights, no matter who they are [...] No child should be treated unfairly for any reason.

What this means is that nobody is allowed to treat you worse than anyone else because of your sex, where you’re from, what you look like, or what religion you have, and so on. Everyone has the same rights, and nobody can take them from you.

Article 12

Children have the right to give their opinions freely on issues that affect them. Adults should listen and take children seriously.

This means that adults always have to ask a child what they think before adults make decisions that concern the child. The grownups must also take the opinions of the child into account. It’s not enough to simply listen to the child. The adults have to let the opinions of the child matter when they make decisions that concern the child.

Article 18

Parents are the main people responsible for bringing up a child. Governments should help them.

This means that your parents or guardians are responsible for your well-being and growth. The government, the ones in charge in the country you live in, also has responsibilities towards you and should help your parents or guardians in taking care of you and your rights. The government is also responsible for making sure that you have access to a good education and health care, and other things that children need to live well.

Article 19

Governments must protect children from violence, abuse and being neglected by anyone who looks after them.

This means that nobody is ever allowed to hit you, say mean things to you, do sexual things with you against your will, or in any other way subject you to violence. People who should take care of you, like your parents or guardians, have to care about you and make sure that you are okay. It also means that all adults have to protect and help you if you are abused anyway.

You can read the entire CRC here.

Text by Line Janson, Förenade tjej-, trans- och ungdomsjourer

Translated by Dannie Milve, Förenade tjej-, trans- och ungdomsjourer

Further reading:

Your rights

Discrimination

The CRC in its entirety