The Convention For Rights of the Child

by Salima

Do the children of the world have rights?

This website shows an essay that I wrote in my class.  I was pretending that I was attending the convention and I was making a speech.

Good morning Delegates of the United Nations.

    I would like to thank Mrs. Carol Bellamy for giving me the honour to represent Canada’s children. I am pleased to give you my input towards the updated Convention for the Rights of the Child. My name is Tina Delvers, I am 13 years old and I am from Calgary, Canada.

    I am very pleased about the overall improvements made since the Convention for the Rights of the Child was introduced in 1989. In the area of health, fewer children are dying from diarrhoeal diseases, we are very close to making polio extinct and 90 million newborns are protected each year from a significant loss of learning ability. In the area of education, primary school enrolment has increased in all regions and reached 82% worldwide and the enrolment gap in primary schools between boys and girls has narrowed globally from 8% to 6%. In the area of water and environmental sanitation, 816 million people obtained improved water supplies over the last ten years and 747 million more people utilized improved sanitation facilities. In spite of successes like these, the "State of the World’s Children in 2002" found that most governments have not lived up to promises they made at the 1990 World Summit.

    Hundreds of millions of children around the world still suffer every day. In the area of health, measles vaccination coverage is less than 50% in more than 15 countries. In the area of education, at least one third of the 190 developing countries have no access at all to basic education, and the majority of young people in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia lack the skills to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS. In the area of water and environmental sanitation, water quality problems have grown more severe in a number of countries during the decade. As you can see, much needs to be done to improve children’s lives.

    In Canada there are fewer issues that negatively affect children’s lives. The reality has exceeded the standards set in 1989. Children in Canada participated in a survey about how they feel about their lives. The children said that adults should listen to the views and ideas of young people, sometimes young people are treated unfairly, some children thought that they did not live in a safe and peaceful place, and most children thought that most people do not care about our environment. In addition the children felt that bullying and racism should be addressed, the government should address teenage violence, and enforce children’s rights. These issues are different from many other countries however these issues still need to be addressed.

    I believe that my school, ABC Charter Public School of Calgary, Canada has exceeded the standards set in the 1989 Convention. For example, my school has a zero tolerance policy towards bullying, we are allowed to express ourselves, we have a right to privacy, and my school enables me to be who I am. My school is a very safe place.

    In my opinion drastic actions need to be taken by the countries of the world. The world is spending hundreds of billions of dollars on weapons. If the world stops spending so much money on weapons, there will be fewer wars and the money could be used for the children. The richer countries should send people and money to the poorer countries to help the children there. The United Nations should update the Convention for the Rights of the Child every five years instead of ten so that issues can be addressed sooner.

    Ladies and Gentlemen, the children of the world are counting on your support and commitment and we need it NOW! Our voices must not be ignored; they must be heard.

Thank you for visiting my site.  I hope you enjoyed reading my essay. Please come back again!