The Convention on the Rights of the Child: new attitudes to children

摘要

Children have traditionally been seen as objects of charity rather than subjects of rights. Politicians, professionals and of course parents, have cared for their well-being, but primarily in the spirit of protecting the vulnerable. It was not widely recognized that children also are capable, that they have opinions, that they deserve respect as all other human beings and that they ought to have 'rights'. This is what the movement for child rights wanted to change. It had its roots in campaigns for peace and human rights but also in more traditional and humanitarian organizations working for children's welfare. Its philosophy was inspired by the writings and lives of some outstanding personalities such as Kahlil Gibran, Eglantyne Jebb and Janusz Korczak. The League of Nations adopted a Declaration on the Rights of the Child in 1924 and the United Nations endorsed the text of a somewhat longer declaration in 1959. These were not legally binding.