Human rights are something we all share. They are about recognising the value and dignity of all people. Human rights help us to respect ourselves and each other.
The special rights for children and young people are listed in the UNCRC. UNCRC stands for United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. All children and young people, everywhere in the world – no matter who they are, where they live or what they believe in – have these rights.
The UNCRC has 54 articles in it, 42 rights are for children and young people up to 18 years of age. The others are all about how governments and adults should work together to make sure children and young people can access their rights.
The rights on the list are all the things that children and young people need to make sure that they are safe, have the things they need to survive and develop, and have a say in decisions that affect their lives.
The UNCRC is not law, but because the Australian government has signed up to it, they must make sure that children and young people have all their rights in the UNCRC. They also have to make sure that children, young people and adults know about and understand the convention. Every five years the Australian government puts forward a report about their progress, and Australian non government organisations make a separate report.
Children's Rights in Australia
www.hreoc.gov.au/info_for_students/
children/
Read about your rights – Child friendly version of the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child (PDF)
» Download PDF (2MB)
Read about your rights – Easy read version of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities
» Download PDF (2.1MB)
www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=150
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii
/documents/DRIPS_en.pdf (166KB)
UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities
www2.ohchr.org/english/law/disabilities-convention.htm
What’s up CROC?
www.ncylc.org.au/croc/home.html
Child Rights Information Network
www.crin.org
Please note: When you click on the web links above you will leave the The Council for the Care of Children website.
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