Your Children's Rights Under CRC

The rights under CRC

The rights in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), set out in 54 articles, can be classified into 4 different groups.

1. Survival rights

This covers the right to life and the right to the highest standard of health and medical care attainable. This also include the right to adequate food, shelter, clean water and primary health care.

Survival rights and development rights not only require the existence of the means to fulfill the rights but also the means to provide access to these rights.

2. Development rights

These rights include all forms of education, both formal and informal, the right to a standard of living which is adequate for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development such as leisure, recreation and cultural activities

Development rights addresses the needs of child refugees, children with disabilities and children of minority and indigenous groups.

3. Protection rights

These rights cover protection from discrimination, from abuse and neglect, protection for children without families and protection for refugee children including right to special protection in times of war and protection from abuse in the criminal justice system.

4. Participation rights

These rights cover the right of a child to express her/his views in all matters affecting the child in keeping with his or her evolving capacities, the right to information and freedom of association, provided with direction and guidance.

Getting children involved in these rights, as they mature, will help them understand about the realization of all their rights.

Why are these rights important?

These categories are not mutually exclusive and some rights may fit into more than one category.

These rights are important because we need to teach children of their rights as well as their responsibility towards their rights, according to their age and maturity.

Picture credits: TogetherWeCare4Kids, Asiaone, World Harmony Run, LiveSmartAsia