Universal Children's Day...

Yeah! It’s Children’s Day. A day set aside to celebrate children and promote their welfare!

In December of 1954 the General Assembly first recommended that all countries institute a Universal Children's Day, to be observed as a day of worldwide fraternity and understanding between children. The chosen date in most countries is the 20^th of November. This date marks the day on which the Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, in 1959, and the Convention of the Rights of the Child, in 1989. (see: http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/children_day/ for more information)

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has been signed or ratified by more countries than any other international treaty. The Convention addresses the rights of children and youth under the age of 18. It recognizes their basic human rights and gives them additional rights to protect them from harm. The Convention’s 54 articles cover everything from a child’s right to be free from exploitation, to the right to his or her own opinion and the right to education, health care, and economic opportunity. (See: http://www.unac.org/en/news_events/un_days/children1.asp for more information)

So, take some time today to celebrate children. Unfortunately there are children today who are being trafficked. Children who are dying of preventable diseases. Children fighting in wars. Children who cannot afford to go to school. And children forced into labor. Let us hope for a brighter future for ALL children.