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The Facts:
- After more than 60 years of advocacy, in 1989, the Convention
On the Rights of the Child became the most-signed
treaty in the world. The basic premise of this treaty is that
all children deserve the fundamental freedoms and rights of all
human beings. The United States and Somalia are the only two countries
that have not yet ratified the convention.
- Children suffer some of the worst human rights abuses in the
world. In some cases, street children are killed or tortured by
police. Children as young as 6 years are kidnapped and forced
to work in armies or armed rebel groups. Many children in the
world are forced into extremely difficult working conditions by
the age of 6. Others are forced into prostitution.
- Child Rights abuses include: the use of child soldiers, child
labour, discrimination, poor or no education, poor or no health
care, sexual exploitation, and violence against children.
- The worst areas for child sexual exploitation are Central America
and Eastern Europe.
- Children are very vulnerable to these kinds of human rights
abuses because of their physical and psychological immaturity.
- Many governments have taken Child Rights much further. Numerous
governments have implemented agencies or bureaus that deal with
the issue of Child Rights abuses, foreign and domestic.
- While much advancement in the field of child rights has been
made, there is still a LONG way to go. This was best put by UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who said: "The principle of
‘all children, all rights’ is still much too far from
being a reality."
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