Child Rights

Background on Child Rights

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child says that childhood is separate from adulthood, and lasts until 18; it is a special, protected time in which children must be allowed to grow, learn, play, develop, and flourish with dignity. The convention went on to become the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history and has helped transform children’s lives.
Kids Rights Index, Kids Rights
Child Rights and Why They Matter, UNICEF
Guiding questions to help implement a child rights approach, UNICEF/Schermbrucker

School Climate Bill of Rights from the Los Angeles Unified School District; Summary and resources (page 22) related to the effort to enact a climate bill of rights, from CADRE (Community Asset Development Re-defining Education)
Bill of Rights for the Children of Youth of the City of Portland and Multnomah County, Oregon
Youth Bill of Rights, San Diego County, California
Children’s Bill of Rights, San Luis Obispo County, California
Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights, Minnesota
Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights, Austin, Texas

Child Fund Alliance is a global network of 11 child-focused development organizations that works in partnership with children and their communities to create lasting change, with the participation of children themselves a key component of the approach.
Children’s rights, Australia
Reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Denmark
Child Rights Indicator Framework 2021, New Brunswick
Children’s rights in New Zealand
Children’s rights in Republic of Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Children’s human rights in Scotland
Global List of National Human Rights Institutions Specifically for Children, Child Rights International Network

Children’s Rights, nonprofit that holds governments accountable for keeping kids safe and healthy
Center for the Human Rights of Children at Loyola University School of Law, an interdisciplinary center committed to protecting and advancing the human rights of children
Jonathan Todres, children’s rights research and advocacy
Human Rights for Kids, nonprofit dedicated to the promotion and protection of human rights for children
Our Children’s Trust, nonprofit public interest law firm that provides strategic, campaign-based legal services to youth
Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, nonprofit that protects and advances the rights and best interests of immigrant children
Child-Friendly Laws and Policies, UNICEF Child Friendly Cities
Litigating the Rights of the Child: The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Domestic and International Jurisprudence is a free, downloadable book that examines “the impact of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on national and international jurisprudence, since its adoption in 1989.”

Juliana V. United States, a youth-led lawsuit asserting that the government’s actions causing climate change violates the rights of children and youth
E.F. V. New York City Department of Education, a lawsuit claiming New York City school district denies children with disabilities the right to equal education
FTC and Attorney General of the State of New York V. Google and YouTube, a lawsuit asserting that Google and YouTube violated children’s privacy rights