The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
The Convention recognises, for the first time, that all children have full civil, social, political, cultural and economic rights, which must be promoted and protected by all. The agreement defines globally relevant principles for children regardless of their social, cultural, ethnic or religious background. Since then, children have been recognised as persons and citizens with rights, able to actively participate in family, social, cultural and civic life.
Italy ratified the Convention on 27 May 1991 with Law No. 176, thus becoming State law and fully applicable in Italian territory. Today, the Convention is ratified by 196 states. Only the United States has not legally bound itself to the Convention.
The Convention consists of 54 articles and the text is divided into three parts:
- the first part contains the enunciation of rights (Arts. 1-41);
- the second part identifies the bodies in charge and the modalities for the improvement and monitoring of the Convention (Arts. 42-45);
- the third part describes the ratification procedure (Arts. 46-54).
The Convention provides for 4 fundamental principles, which must inform all the articles stated:
- Non-discrimination (Art. 2): the rights enshrined in the Convention must be guaranteed to all minors, without distinguishing between race, sex, language, religion, opinion of the child, girl or boy, or the parents.
- Best interests (Art. 3): In every decision, law, policy, measure, or public or private initiative, the best interests of the child must be considered and given priority.
- Right to life, survival and development (Art. 6): States must commit the maximum available resources to protect the life and healthy development of children through international cooperation.
- Listening to the views of the child (Art. 12): Children must be heard in all decision-making processes affecting them, and their perspectives, ideas, and opinions must be considered.
Three optional protocols were added to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The first Optional Protocol concerns the sale, prostitution and pornography of persons under the age of 18. The second Optional Protocol concerns the involvement of underage persons in armed conflicts. The third Protocol on complaints procedures provides, for the first time, remedies against violations of the fundamental rights of underage persons. Recognised by the CRC and the other two Optional Protocols, this creates a formal submission channel for reports or complaints to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva to protect the rights of underage persons.
Italy has ratified all three Optional Protocols, thus being fully applicable in Italian territory.
