Children's Rights
The Convention on the Rights of the Child and the international framework protecting children from exploitation, abuse, and neglect.
The Most Ratified Treaty in History
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), adopted in 1989, is the most widely ratified human rights treaty in the world. Every UN member state has ratified it except one: the United States. The CRC recognizes children as rights-holders rather than passive objects of adult protection, a conceptual shift that transformed how the international community thinks about childhood.
The CRC covers four categories of rights: survival rights (life, health, adequate living standards), development rights (education, play, cultural participation), protection rights (from abuse, exploitation, and violence), and participation rights (to express views, be heard in decisions affecting them). The principle of the 'best interests of the child' runs through the entire treaty, requiring that in all actions concerning children, their best interests must be a primary consideration.
