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Center for the Human Rights of Children
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Dear Friends,
Today, the world celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). We dedicate this issue of our newsletter to the principles espoused by the Convention. The
CRC has produced significant achievements in the lives of children, including improved global mortality rates of children under the
age of five, and new laws to protect children from labor abuses, human trafficking, and service in armed conflict. However, we still have work to do. There are children in the United States and abroad who continue to live in poverty, who are victims of abuse, violence, and exploitation, and who are denied education and access to immunizations against childhood diseases.
Earlier this year, the Center for the Human Rights of Children staff attended a national conference in Washington, D.C. on the CRC, and took a leadership role in strategy discussions around U.S, ratification of the treaty. We believe advocacy on behalf of children's rights comes at a critical time as the United States seeks to demonstrate its regard for fundamental human rights. Please join us by learning more about the CRC, its impact in Chicago, what youth around the world think about children's rights, and ways you can improve the lives of children at home and around the world. Sincerely,
Katherine Kaufka Walts
Director
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Happy Anniversary
On November 20, 2009, the world celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
It was drafted and adopted by the United
Nations to ensure that all children are guaranteed essential and
inalienable human rights by their own governments, and became the most widely and rapidly ratified human rights treaty in history.
The CRC itself is guided by four main
principles: non-discrimination; a focus on the best interests of the child; the
right to life, survival, and development; and respect for the views and input
of children. Rights guaranteed by the Convention include, among others, the right to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and the right to participate fully in family, cultural, and social life.
The CRC is the first legally-binding
international instrument to incorporate the full spectrum of human rights - civil, cultural, economic, political and social - and
as such it stands as a model for the protection of universally acknowledged
basic standards of life. The CRC protects children's rights by setting standards in health care; education; and legal, civil and social services. While the United States played an active role in drafting the Convention, today the only countries that have not ratified the CRC are the United States and Somalia.
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 What Children Have to Say about Human Rights
An 8 minute film celebrating the 20th anniversary
of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, produced by ChildFund
Australia and VIAfilm.
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Chicago and the CRC
Earlier this year, Chicago joined nine other cities and two states that have
passed resolutions in support of the CRC, the first comprehensive
international treaty that protects children by setting standards in
health care; education; and legal, civil and social services. The Chicago resolution provides the city with a framework
through which different public agencies can align their work to
effectively promote the well being of children.
Northwestern's University School of Law Center for
International Human
Rights and a diverse coalition of
children's rights advocates, including Loyola University Chicago
students, advocated for
the passage of the City of Chicago resolution in support
of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Source: www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/
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CRC Resources
Special free issue of Child Abuse and Neglect, The International Journal on the 20th Anniversary of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Provides an overview of two decades of development in the areas of child
maltreatment research, data collection, and reporting practice, as
required by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and information and practice exchange to support governments and
professionals in their important efforts globally.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/issue/5847-2009-999669988-1554191
Plain language explanation of applicable articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
http://www.unicef.org/crc/index_30177.html
Lesson plans for parents/teachers
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/resources/rights/ (ages 8-10)
http://www.un.org/works/sub4.asp?lang=en&id=3 (see "Educational Resources")
Voices of Youth - Global Discussion
http://www.unicef.org/voy/discussions/index.php
Campaign for U.S. Ratification
http://childrightscampaign.org/crcindex.php
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Did you know?
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Out of the more than 120 million children of primary school age not in school, the majority are girls.
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See the Center for the Human Rights of Children Awareness Campaign on Girls' Right to Education at www.luc.edu/chrc/AwarenessCampaigns.sht
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About the Center
Recognizing that children require special protections, the Center for the Human Rights of Children was founded at Loyola University Chicago in 2006. The Center pursues an agenda of interdisciplinary research, education, and service to address critical human rights issues affecting children and youth,
both locally and globally. The Center represents Loyola University's efforts to protect and advance the human rights of children, engaging students, faculty, and the community at large through research, scholarship, advocacy, and programs.Contact UsKatherine Kaufka Walts, J.D.| Director | kkaufkawalts@luc.edu | 312-915-6351
James Garbarino, Ph.D. | Senior Faculty Fellow | jgarbar@luc.edu | 773-508-3001
David Doyle | Doctoral Candidate | Graduate Assistant |ddoyle1@luc.edu | 312-915-6357To learn more about the Center, please visit www.luc.edu/chrc
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Mission: Loyola's Center for the Human Rights of Children seeks to represent,
coordinate, and stimulate efforts to understand, protect and apply
the human rights of children in the face of injustice and poverty of
body, mind, and spirit.
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