Child Rights
- The Right to Survival - to life, health, nutrition, name and nationality
- The Right to Development - to education, care, leisure and recreation
- The Right to Protection - from exploitation, abuse and neglect
- The Right to Participation - to expression, information, thought and religion
Examples of Child Rights Violations:
- Poor nutritional and health status
- Over-congested and squalor living conditions
- Threat of eviction/displacement
- Child labour
- Child sexual abuse
- Threat of child-trafficking
- Early childhood marriage due to economic reasons
- Hazardous work e.g. drug trafficking and prostitution
- Victims of family violence and alcoholism/drug abuse
- Lack of quality formal schools for disadvantaged children
What We Do to Advocate Child-Rights
In 2008, VITAL partnered with a leading Child-Rights advocacy organisation 'CRY' (Child Rights & You) working in India to assist in implementing the necessary policies that ensure the protection of Child-Rights. In partnership, we act as a portal for those people worldwide who want to help, to the very children in need.
To advocate child-rights we:
- fund projects which train both school teachers and local police on protecting child-rights
- support organisations with a holistic perspective on ensuring child-rights
- pressurise local governments to implement pro-child-rights policies
- raise awareness of child-rights violations among the international community
- hold fund raising events to fund more child-friendly projects
What Can You Do to Advocate Child-Rights?
People from all over the world can make a lasting difference from the smallest of actions. You can:
- Read and share the Child Rights Charter
- Read about the status of the world's millions of children in need
- Spread the word and discuss child-rights with your friends
- Write a letter to your local MP to demand more action on child-rights worldwide
- Travel to a developing country and see what is happening first hand
- Arrange some spare time to volunteer for children in need
- Donate to VITAL or buy VITAL fair trade products
- Ensure your own children their full rights as citizens
Millenium Development Goals
World leaders at the 2002 United Nations General Assembly Special Section for Children, committed to targets achieving A World Fit for Children programme.
These targets are reviewed in relation to the United Nations Millenium Development Goals (MDG)-some of the targets include:
- aims to eradicate extreme poverty & hunger
- calls for universal primary education. Getting & keeping children in school remains a challenge
- aim to reduce under five deaths, most of which are readily preventable. In 2006, the number of annual under five deaths fell below 10 million
VITAL is working with partners to achieve some of the targets of the MDG.
