Print this Email this

Chapter overview - children’s rights

1 August 2007, 07:14PM

Protecting childrens rights

image
© AI

Children rely on their families and other adults for their needs for survival and protection, and for reaching their full potential. They can be more vulnerable than adults in situations where human rights are abused, and they usually lack a voice in decision-making. Education is a fundamental right for children as it provides them with opportunities to reach their potential and break out of poverty. Around the world millions of children miss out on education as they are trapped working, often in dangerous situations, because their families are poor and their countries are unable to enforce laws to protect them.

This chapter explores the right to education, types of work children do, reasons why they work and some of the difficulties in addressing these issues and protecting children's rights.

The chapter features:

  • Introduction: child labour and sporting equipment
  • The Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • The right to education
  • Child labour: the global picture
  • Why do children work?
  • Where do children work?
  • Investigating an industry
  • Child soldiers
  • Human rights defender: Iqbal Masih
  • Human rights defender: Craig Kielburger