I remember seeing the announcement of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the news, shortly after my 12th birthday. I am not sure why I remember that, because at that time it did not have much of an impact on me. It was something abstract and far away. And it was wedged in between all of the big stories: Tiananmen Square had happened that summer, the Berlin wall had just come down, the Iron Curtain appeared to be vanishing and the Communist Block was breathing its final breaths. Plus, I had only just turned 12 and I lived in the Netherlands, a country where children did not have all that much to worry about or be afraid of. Yet, still, I remember.
Given the path that I ended up on: working with children in countries where, even after the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, there is still a lot to fear for them; working on alternative care and working on child protection, I am quite happy that I can still remember the announcement of the Convention. At this point in time, all my work is anchored on the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Guidelines for Alternative Care for Children, which came out of the CRC, 20 years later.
Through the research project I concluded at the start of this year (you can download the resulting report Alternative Care for Children Around the Globe HERE) I ended up reading dozens upon dozens of reports that countries are required under Article 44 of the Convention to send to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, to explain how they are making sure that children’s rights are honoured. This gave me a better insight than I had previously had on just how big the impact of the Convention on the Rights of the Child has been on the development of child protection and alternative care systems all across the world.
All countries in the world have signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which in itself is unique. And all but one – the United States of America – have ratified it.
While there is absolutely still a lot of work to be done, in all countries, there is a lot of effort being put into securing Child Rights, everywhere. That is no mean feat in just 30 years time.
I really hope that the momentum will continue to grow, and that I will get to witness the day when telling someone that I remember the announcement of the Convention on the Rights of the Child will not cause much of a reaction, because Child Rights will be guaranteed everywhere and the Convention will be seen as a technicality existing somewhere in the background. May that moment come soon!
In the meantime, happy birthday to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and many more productive and influential years to you!
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