On November 20^th 1989 in New York, the United Nations General Assembly approved the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the first international document that protects and regulates the rights of children in society. All the states adhering to the Convention  (196 so far), are obliged to align their domestic laws on the matter with those of the Convention and to implement all the actions necessary for the assistance of parents and institutions in carrying out their obligations towards the minors.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child comprises of 54 articles which are based on four fundamental principles.

1. The right to equal treatment (art. 2)

No child shall be discriminated against on the basis of sex, origin, citizenship, language, religion, colour, disability or political opinion.

2. The right to safeguard well-being (art. 3)

When decisions need to be made that may affect children, the well-being of children comes first. This is as true within a family as it is at the state level.

3. The right to life and development (art. 6)

Every child must have access to medical care, be able to go to school, and be protected from abuse and exploitation.

4. The right to be heard and participate (art. 12)

All children, as people in their own right, must be taken seriously and respected. This also means informing them in an age-appropriate way and involving them in decisions.

The Convention urges Governments to commit to making the rights set forth a priority and to guaranteeing them to the maximum extent available resources allow.

The Convention on the rights of the child is accompanied by two optional protocols which Italy ratified on 11 March 2002 with law n.46.

To read the full text of the UN Convention click HERE (Link: https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child)

Inspired by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Charter of Girl’s rights was approved in 1997 in Reykjavik. Rather than placing the two genders on the same level, as the UN Convention does, the Charter of the Girl’s Rights distinguishes them in terms of characteristics and needs, with regard to the different physical and emotional connotations. The Charter must be read as a fundamental premise for the affirmation and protection of women’s rights from birth. The child must be helped, protected from birth and supported so that she can grow up in full awareness of her rights and her duties against all forms of discrimination. In 2016, almost twenty years after its first approval, the Charter was renewed and approved by BPW Europe (The International Federation of Business and Professional Women). The Charter does not claim to be binding; it is a statement of principles of moral and civil value prepared to promote substantial equality between the sexes, the valorisation of the differences between girls and boys and the overcoming of stereotypes that limit freedom of thought and action in adulthood.

To read the full text of the New Charter of the Girl’s Rights click HERE (Link: https://www.bpw-europe.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/New-Charter-of-the-Girls-Rights..pdf )

Despite the work of international institutions on the rights of children, conflicts, poverty, hunger and the climate crisis are pushing millions of girls and boys to the brink. According to Savethechildren’s estimates, in the world more than 400 million girls and boys live in conflict areas, between 10 and 16 million minors risk not being able to go back to school because they are forced to work or get married, while every year more than 22,000 girls and boys die in pregnancies and births that are the result of child marriages.

The climate crisis is a child rights crisis that weighs heavily on today’s and future generations. In the world, about 1 billion children, almost half of the world’s child population, live in countries at “extreme risk” of suffering the impacts of climate change. Worldwide, up to 345 million people lack access to enough nutritious food. And hunger brings with it devastating consequences such as malnutrition which today remains one of the main causes of infant mortality: over 13.5 million children under 5 risk dying of hunger.

Once again, the data underline the importance of pursuing the commitments made and increasing the efforts made so far to ensure the protection and respect for the rights of children around the world, at a time when they are particularly at risk.

The current trend of global urbanization and the growing attraction of cities for families is making urban environments the main background where the new generations are growing and prospering. An estimate by the United Nations says that, as a result of this phenomenon of urbanization, by 2025 60% of the world’s children will live in cities, therefore for millions of future children the contours of daily life and experiences will be shaped by urban environments.

Growing up in the city, however, also means having to worry about healthy and safe living conditions, recreational spaces, safe and reliable transport, etc. A child-friendly city must take into account the role of housing, transport, community networks, playgrounds, governance and, above all, the presence of green areas, as important prerequisites for living in the city.

Children living in urban areas, compared to those living in rural areas, are, as mentioned, generally exposed to higher levels of environmental risks such as air pollution, noise and heat and have limited access to natural environments, including green spaces. At the same time, urban lifestyle is mainly associated with lower levels of physical activity and higher exposure to crime and psychological stress. Contact with green spaces, on the other hand, is also believed to have a determining role in the development of the human brain.

For some years now, UNICEF has been carrying out the “Child-Friendly Cities Initiative – CFCI”, which aims to support cities and administrators change the management policies of the urban ecosystem taking the little ones as indicators of urban quality and the needs and requirements of childhood as parameters for the promotion of sustainable development.

The main objective of this project is the direct involvement of children and young people, to give voice to their thoughts, their ideas and taking their point of view into consideration. Children must not remain invisible at a political level, the child’s interest must become the guiding principle of every action that directly and indirectly affects the child himself.

UNICEF proposes the Program in many countries of the world and in each of them the proposal is declined differently to respond to the different models of local governance.

The Nine steps foreseen by the Program to become a Child Friendly City are:

• Participation of children and adolescents: promote active involvement of children in issues that concern them; listen to their opinions and take them into account in decision-making processes.
• A child-friendly legislative framework: ensure a set of laws, rules and procedures that promote and protect the rights of all children.
• A strategy for the rights of the child in the city: Develop a detailed and comprehensive strategy and agenda for building a Child Friendly City based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• A coordination mechanism for the rights of the child: develop

5. permanent structures of local government to ensure that children’s perspectives are given priority.

• An assessment of the impact of policies on children and adolescents: implement a systematic process to analyze the impact of laws, policies and practices on children – before, during and after implementation.
• A budget dedicated to childhood: ensure an adequate commitment of resources and an analysis

6. finance for children.

• A regular report on the condition of childhood and adolescence in the city: ensure monitoring and collection of data on the condition of girls and boys and their rights.
• The dissemination of knowledge of the rights of children and adolescents: ensuring the knowledge of children’s rights by adults and children.
• An independent mechanism/institution to promote the rights of the child: support non-governmental organizations and independent institutions that defend and guarantee human rights – an ombudsman or a children’s commissioner – to promote children’s rights.

To find out more about the project click HERE (Link: https://childfriendlycities.org/what-is-the-child-friendly-cities-initiative/

Source:

https://www.unicef.ch/it/chi-siamo/internazionale/convenzione-sui-diritti-dellinfanzia

https://www.salute.gov.it/portale/saluteBambinoAdolescente/dettaglioContenutiSaluteBambinoAdolescente.jsp?lingua=italiano&id=2599&area=saluteBambino&menu=vuoto#:~:text=La%20Convenzione%20sui%20diritti%20dell,vigore%20il%202%20settembre%201990.

http://www.exdirigentiblp.it/sito/files/La-Nuova-Carta-dei-diritti-della-bambina-Versione-Italiana.pdf

https://fidapadistrettonordest.org/la-nuova-carta-dei-diritti-della-bambina/

https://www.savethechildren.it/blog-notizie/20-novembre-la-giornata-mondiale-dei-diritti-dei-bambini

https://www.georgofili.info/contenuti/risultato/13662

https://www.unicef.it/italia-amica-dei-bambini/citta-amiche/

https://www.informafamiglie.it/ambiente-solidarieta-consumo/bambini-citta