Keep Us Safe a Project to Introduce the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to 8-13 Year-Olds P R /9
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Keep Us Safe A project to introduce the UN Convention on The Rights of the Child to 8-13 year-olds p R /9 The UNICEF-UK Protection HRE/CHILD/ Save the Children Y Articles This book is one of three designed to introduce the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to 8 -13 year olds, and deals with those Articles which cover PROTECTION of the child from abuse and exploitation. “No child will realize its maximum potential and contribution to a better tomorrow if it is forced to be a grown-up for sheer animal survival. A child should crawl because it is the normal préludé to walking, not an escape from conflict or apartheid, not because its legs are too maimed to walk, not because it is too hungry to walk, not because it is paralysed with fear of brutality! A child should play and grow in the perpétuai spring of childhood that recognizes no winter, storm or status of parentage. This is the fundamental and universal right of ail children! The child’s mind is innocent, fresh, clean and free to take in the world in ail its aspects, to challenge it and make it a better place.” Ms. Sally Mugabe, First Lady of Zimbabwe in an address to the National Conférence on the Future United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Alexandria, Egypt, November 1988 The sériés has been produced, in collaboration, by: UNICEF-UK Save the Children and Oxford Development Education Unit ISBN 1 871440 05 X (UNICEF-UK) ISBN1 87032219 3 (SCF) Copyright: SCF/UNICEF-UK1990 This material may be photocopied for use in schools. Cover photo by Jenny Matthews/SCF CONTENTS Page A topic web: “Keep Us Safe” ii Introduction 1 The Articles of the Convention 2 Unit A: Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation 5 Unit B: Child Labour 20 Unit C: Discrimination 33 Unit D: Children and the Law 43 Unit E: Armed Conflict 54 Unit F: Refugees 64 Resources List 74 World Map Inside back cover Acknowledgements We would like to thank the following teachers for their comments on these materials: Richard Chapman, Leafield C-of E Primary School, Oxfordshire Sue Hughes, Bladon C of E Primary School, Oxfordshire Shirley Long, Millbrook Junior School, Wantage and Dee Edmonds for the illustrations hard drugs poverty the media torture \ Peace Education glue sniffing conflict disarmament causes of violence bullying case studies alcohol punishment prévention refugees cigarettes ARMED CONFLICT counselling h DRUGS physical accidents comfort REHABILITATION good hugs/ emotional/ bad hugs CHILDREN AND psychological KEEP US SAFE! ► ABUSE AND NEGLECT THE LAW sexual best interest EXPLOITATION punishment V \ DISCRIMINATION child labour capital \ punishment child prostitution sexual slavery \ \ justice cultural trafficking remand homes \. imprisonment racial abduction \ protection of cl as s privacy \ INTRODUCTION November 20th 1989 is a day which children of the world should celebrate; for on that day the United Nations General Assembly formally adopted The Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention is made up of 54 Articles, and they are reprinted in full in the Teachers’ Handbook which accompanies this sériés of project books. We hâve grouped the Articles of the Convention into three categories: PARTICIPATION PROVISION PROTECTION ‘Keep Us Safe’ looks at the Protection Articles. These are the rights which require adults to care for children by protecting them from psychological, emotional, physical and sexual maltreatment. Many forms of maltreatment of children are inter-connected. We hâve distinguished particular learning topics in the topic web on the previous page. We hâve grouped these into Units which differentiate between family and domestic maltreatment: Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation; community maltreatment: Child Labour, Discrimination and Injustice; and wider issues of maltreatment caused by political and civil conflict: Armed Conflict and Refugees. Through ail the Units the essential right to Réhabilitation from expériences of maltreatment has been highlighted. We hâve attempted in these mateiâals to comply with the requirements of the National Curriculum and hâve indicated spécifie relevant Attainment Targets wherever possible in the Teachers’ Handbook which accompanies this sériés. The other titles in this sériés are: ‘The Whole Child’ which looks at the PARTICIPATION ARTICLES Tt’s Our Right’ which looks at the PROVISION ARTICLES Heather Jarvis, Education Officer, UNICEF-UK Jackie Chapman, Education Consultant, Oxford DE Unit Don Harrison, Education Consultant, SCF 1 The complété text on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, together with an unofficial summary, is given in the accompanying Teacher’s Handbook. The Articles to which this book specifically refers are the following: Article 2 and, as appropriate, for judicial 1. The States Parties to the présent involvement. Convention shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in this Convention to Article 22 each child within their jurisdiction 1. States Parties shall take appropriate without discrimination of any kind, measures to ensure that a child who is irrespective of the child’s or his or her seeking refugee status or who is parent’s or legal guardian’s race, colour, considered a refugee in accordance with sex, language, religion, political or other applicable international oi' domestic law opinion, national, ethnie, or social origin, and procedures shall, whether property, disability, birth or other status. unaccompanied or accompanied by his or her parents or by any other person, 2. States Parties shall take ail appropriate receive appropriate protection and measures to ensure that the child is humanitarian assistance in the protected against ail forms of enjoyment of applicable right set forth in discrimination or punishment on the this Convention and in other basis of the status, activities, expressed international human rights or opinions, or beliefs of the child’s parents, humanitarian instruments to which the legal guardians, or family members. said States are Parties. Article 16 2. For this purpose, States Parties shall 1. No child shall be subjected to arbitrary provide, as they consider appropriate, or unlawful interférence with his or her coopération in any efforts by the UN and privacy, family, home or correspondence, other competent intergovernmental nor to unlawful attacks on his or her organisations cooperating with UN to honour and réputation. protect and assist such a child and to trace the parents or other members of 2. The child has the right to the protection the family of any refugee child in order to of the law against such interférence or obtain information necessary for attacks. réunification with his or her family. In cases where no parents or other members Article 19 of the family can be found, the child shall 1. States Parties shall take ail appropriate be accorded the same protection as any legislative, administrative, social and other child permanently or temporarily educational measures to protect the child deprived of his or her family from ail forms of physical or mental environment for any reason, as set forth violence, injury or abuse, neglect or in the présent Convention. négligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation including sexual abuse, while Article 32 in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) 1. States Parties recognise the right of the or any other person who has the care of child to be protected from économie the child. exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to 2. Such protective measures should, as interfère with the child’s éducation, or to appropriate, include effective procedures be harmful to the child’s health or for the establishment of social physical, mental, spiritual, moral or programmes to provide necessary support social development. of the child and for those who hâve the care of the child, as well as for other 2. States Parties shall take legislative, forms of prévention and for identification, administrative, social and educational reporting, referral, investigation, measures to ensure the implémentation treatment, and follow-up of instances of of this article. To this end, and having child maltreatment described heretofore, regard to the relevant provisions of other 2 international instruments, States Parties 3. States Parties shall refrain from recruiting shall in particular: any person who has not attained the âge a) provide for a minimum âge or of 15 years into their armed forces. In minimum âges for admissions to recruiting among these persons who hâve employment; attained the âge of 15 years but who hâve b) provide for appropriate régulation of not attained the âge of 18 years, States the hours and conditions of Parties shall endeavour to give priority to employment; and those who are oldest. c) provide for appropriate penalties or other sanctions to ensure the effective 4. In accordance with their obligations enforcement of this article. under international humanitarian law to protect the civilian population in armed Article 33 conflicts, States Parties shall take ail States Parties shall take ail appropriate feasible measures to ensure protection measures, including legislative, and care of children who are affected by administrative, social and educational an armed conflict. measures, to protect children from the illicit use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic Article 39 substances as defined in the relevant States Parties shall take ail appropriate international treaties, and to prevent the measures to promote physical and use of children in the illicit production and psychological recovery and social ré trafficking of such substances. intégration of a child victim of: any form of neglect, exploitation, or abuse; torture or Article 34 any other form of cruel, inhuman or States Parties undertake to protect the child degrading treatment or punishment; or from ail forms of sexual exploitation and armed conflicts. Such recovery and ré sexual abuse. For these purposes States intégration shall take place in an Parties shall in particular take ail environment which fosters the health, self- appropriate national, bilateral and respect and dignity of the child.