Bahá'í Junior Youth Learn about Children's Rights

This year was the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, a human rights treaty ratified by most nations which ensures the protection and development of children around the world. Only the United States and Somalia have not yet ratified this treaty. The Bahá'í community has been an active participant in efforts to obtain US ratification of this treaty for all 20 years.

In our Junior Youth class, we discussed the importance of human rights for children and explored what some of those rights are.

Children have a right to:
A.Survival - clean water, nutritious food, health care, hygiene
B.Development - education to assist them in reaching highest potential
C.Protection - from discrimination, abduction, abuse and neglect, trafficking, drugs, armed conflict, child labor, unlawful arrest
D.Participation - freedom of opinion and expression, religion, thought and conscience, association, leisure and play, the right to be a child

After we brainstormed about what rights are included in the treaty, we drew some pictures to illustrate some of those rights.

The right to be kids

Freedom of belief

Peaceful environment

A work in progress

Peace

The right to nutritious food


Displaying our creations

Full text of Convention on the Rights of the Child