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Children's Rights

Information about human rights of children

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Children's Rights

„State parties shall take all effective and appropriate measures with a view to abolishing traditional practices prejudicial to the health of children.“
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 24

What are children's rights?

Children are particularly vulnerable and therefore need the protection of society and state. However, constitutional protection is missing in many countries. For many children, everyday life is characterised by maltreatment, exploitation and abuse. In response to the realities of the situation, the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. The Convention guarantees all children the right to education and health, freedom of expression, protection in war and when fleeing, dignity and protection from violence.

How does SAIDA strengthen the rights of children?

Children cannot assert their rights themselves. They need support. Together with our project partners in Burkina Faso, we are committed to the effective implementation of basic children's rights. We explain girls and boys their rights. Through our girls' protection program, they grow up protected from genital mutilation and child marriage. We safeguard the health care of children and ensure that even the most disadvantaged children are supported. In this way, girls, who are often discriminated against, can also go to school and have the chance to lead a self-determined life.

Specific projects ...

Children's Rights

The implementation of children's rights is fundamental to effective development cooperation. The objectives of development policy are reflected in international treaties. We will briefly present the most important of these international conventions on the protection of children:

Sept. 2015

Sustainable Development Goals

In September 2015 the United Nations General Assembly decided upon a new set of goals for a sustainable future. The 17 goals consist of 169 sub-targets. They were developed to succeed the Millenium Development Goals. However, they are more extensive and therefore more ambitious. SDG Nr. 5 sets out to abolish female genital mutilation and other harmful traditional practices such as early and forced marriage. 
Read more about the sustainable development goals here.

Sept. 2015

Jan. 2005

Maputo Protocol

At a summit meeting in Maputo, the 53 member states of the African Union (AU) adopted the protocol for the rights of women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) into the 1986 African Charter of Human and Civil Rights. In the comprehensive catalog of protected rights, under the section "Elimination of Harmful Practices" (Article 5) the goal of fighting against every form of FGM is explicitly adopted.

Sept. 2000

Millennium Declaration and Development Goals

The Millennium Declaration, an agenda for international politics in the 21st century, was presented at a United Nations summit meeting in September 2000, in which representatives from 189 countries participated. It describes the four most significant areas of international politics according to the summit: 1. Peace, Security, and Disarmament, 2. Development and Poverty eradication, 3. Protecting our common environment, 4. Human rights, democracy, and good governance. Eight international Development Goals (Millennium Development Goals) were derived from the Millennium Declaration, including some with explicit relevance to Womens and Children's rights, namely: giving all children a chance at elementary school education (MDG2), supporting the equality of the sexes and strengthening women's rights (MDG3), decreasing child mortality (MDG4), as well as improving the health of mothers (MDG5).

Sept. 2000

Nov. 1999

African Charter on the Rights of the Child

After the model of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Organization for African Unity's Charter on the Rights of the Child came into effect in 1999. Both conventions exhibit deep similarities. The African Charter on the Rights of the Child is in some ways behind the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as it stipulates that they have no right to social safeguards. However, it goes beyond the UN Convention in that the prohibition of dangerous cultural practices that impair the health of the child is normalized. In any case, the successor organization of the Organization for African Unity, the African Union (AU), signed the "African Youth Charter" in 2006, which came into effect in 2009.

Nov. 20, 1989

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

In the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, the signatory states commit themselves to "take all appropriate legal, administrative, social, and educational measure, to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury, or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child." (Article 19. Par. 1)
In Article 24, it is established that "[s]tate parties shall take all effective and appropriate measures with a view to abolishing traditional practices prejudicial to the health of children."

Nov. 20, 1989

About SAIDA International e.V.

We are committed to supporting women and children’s rights in developing countries. Our work focuses on education for young girls, stopping genital mutilation and early marriages, empowering women, and improving reproductive health. 

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Our donation account at Ethikbank:

IBAN DE61 8309 4495 0003 0283 13
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