I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which persons live together in harmony with equal opportunities. It is an ideal for which I hope to live for, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.
- Nelson Mandela
Here and There
UNIVERSAL CHILDREN’S DAY
by Melanie Hains November 20, 2006
In 1954 it was declared by the United Nations
General Assembly that November 20 was to become Universal Children’s Day. This
was done with the idea of promoting worldwide fraternity between children and
improving the welfare of all children. This was followed by the adoption of the
Declaration of the Rights of the Child on November 20, 1959. This declaration
proclaimed, among other things, the right to an education, love and protection;
and that all children have these rights, regardless of race or gender. In 1989,
Universal Children’s day was marked with the ratification of the Convention on
the Rights of the Child. In response, Canadian Parliament set a goal of
eradicating child poverty in Canada by 2000. However, from 1989 to 2000, the
number of poor children in Canada increased by 43 percent.
According to UNICEF, there are 5.6 million child deaths each year caused by
under-nutrition. Worldwide, nearly 115 million children are not attending
school. UNICEF’s best estimate is that there are 1.2 million children trafficked
yearly worldwide. There are also approximately 246 million children who are
involved in child labour, and 171 million of these are working in hazardous
conditions. The most important right of the child is the right to survival.
However, more than 10 million children under the age of 5 die each year and one
third of these deaths are preventable. If that seems incomprehensible, it means
29 000 children under the age of five die each day.
If those statistics have affected you at all, there are steps that you can take
to make a difference. Write your MP and ask why the goal of eradicating child
poverty has not been met. You can also support groups such as Free the Children,
founded by Canada’s own Craig Kielburger when he was just 12 years old. Free the
Children has some innovative campaigns, such as “Adopt a Village” and “Build a
School”. For more information go to www.freethechildren.com or call
1-416-925-5894. UNICEF’s ‘Say Yes for the Children’ campaign also needs support
to let governments know that people care about children and demand action.
Pledge forms can be found on the UNICEF website at www.unicef.org.
"The Norms help to level the playing field for companies that want to do the right thing for human rights."
Arvind Ganesan
Director of the Business and Human Rights Program
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