Released today, a new report has found that 30 years after the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, millions of children across the world lack the rights and protections they need to survive and thrive.
ChildFund Australia CEO Nigel Spence said: “While the UNCRC contributed to historically unprecedented gains that have transformed children’s lives, this report reveals that the promises of the Convention still remain unfulfilled for millions of children around the world.
The report, A Second Revolution, report found that:
- Education: 64 million children still lack access to primary education; over 60% of primary school children in developing countries fail to meet minimum proficiency in learning; girls are more likely than boys never to enrol at school.
- Violence & exploitation of children: 152 million children are working, and half of these are engaged in as hazardous work; at least 1 in 3 women experience gender-based violence, often starting in early childhood.
- Health: over 5m children die annually from preventable causes; nearly half are attributable to undernutrition.
Mr Spence said: “The data shows that many countries are falling short on spending the 5-6% of GDP that is widely agreed to be necessary to ensure universal coverage of essential healthcare.
“This is leading to unacceptable and tragic outcomes for millions of children and their families.”
He added: “Children’s rights today are facing new and rapidly evolving challenges: worsening conflict, growing inequality, the negative consequences of migration, and the misuse of technology to harm children.
“Conventional programming to prevent and respond to violence against children is not having the scale of impact that children urgently need.
“This report confirms that what we need now is a second revolution, in which the rights of every child – whoever they are, and wherever they live – are fulfilled.”
The report has been released by the Joining Forces Alliance, a collaboration of the six largest international NGOs working with and for children under the age of 18 to secure their rights and end violence against them.
These organisations include ChildFund Alliance, PLAN International, World Vision, Save the Children, SOS Children’s Villages International, and Terre des Hommes International Foundation.
Click here to view the report: www.child-rights-now.org