DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS
OF THE CHILD
ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY
BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
OF THE UNITED NATIONS
ON NOVEMBER 20, 1959
PREAMBLE
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have, in the Charter, reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights and in the dignity and worth of the human person, and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
Whereas the United Nations has, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status,
Whereas the child by reason of physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth,
Whereas the need for such special safeguards has been stated in the Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child of 1924, and recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the statutes of specialized agencies and inter-national organizations concerned with the welfare of children,
Whereas mankind owes to the child the best it has to give,
Now therefore, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
proclaims this
DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
to the end that children[1] may have a happy childhood and enjoy for their own good and for the good of society the rights and freedoms herein set forth, and calls upon parents, upon men and women as individuals, and upon voluntary organizations, local authorities and national Governments to recognize these rights and strive for their observance by legislative and other measures progressively taken in accordance with the following principles:
PRINCIPLE 1
The child shall enjoy all the rights set forth in this Declaration. Every child, without any exception whatsoever, shall be entitled to these rights, without distinction or discrimination on account of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status, whether of the children or of their families.
PRINCIPLE 2
The child shall enjoy special protection, and shall be given opportunities and facilities, by law and by other means, to enable the child to develop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually, and socially in a healthy and normal manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity. In the enactment of laws for this purpose, the best interests of the child shall be the paramount considerations.
PRINCIPLE 3
The child shall be entitled from birth to a name and a nationality.
PRINCIPLE 4
The child shall enjoy the benefits of social security. The child shall be entitled to grow and develop in health; to this end, special care and protections shall be provided both to the child and to the child’s mother, including adequate pre-natal and post-natal care. The child shall have the right to adequate nutrition, housing, recreation, and medical services.
PRINCIPLE 5
The child who is physically, mentally, or socially handicapped shall be given the special treatment, education, and care required by the child’s particular condition.
PRINCIPLE 6
The child, for the full and harmonious develop-ment of personality, needs love and understanding. Children shall, wherever possible, grow up in the care and under the responsibility of their parents, and, in any case, in an atmosphere of affection and of moral and material security; children of tender years shall not, save in exceptional circumstances, be separated from their mother. Society and the public authorities shall have the duty to extend particular care to children without a family and to those without adequate means of support. Payment of State and the assistance towards the maintenance of children of large families is desirable.
PRINCIPLE 7
The child is entitled to receive education, which shall be free and compulsory, at least in the elementary stages. Children shall be given an education which will promote their general culture, and enable them, on a basis of equal opportunity, to develop their abilities, their individual judgment, and their sense of moral and social responsibility, and to become useful members of society.
The best interests of children shall be the guiding principle of those responsible for their education and guidance; that responsibility lies in the first place with their parents.
The child shall have full opportunity for play and recreation, which should be directed to the same purposes as education; society and the public authorities shall endeavor to promote the enjoyment of this right.
PRINCIPLE 8
The child shall in all circumstances be among the first to receive protection and relief.
PRINCIPLE 9
The child shall be protected against all forms of neglect, cruelty, and exploitation. Children shall not be the subject of traffic, in any form.
The child shall not be admitted to employment before an appropriate minimum age; children shall in no case be caused or permitted to engage in any occupation or employment which would prejudice their health or education, or interfere with their physical, mental, or moral development.
PRINCIPLE 10
The child shall be protected from practices which may foster racial, religious, and any other form of discrimination. Children shall be brought up in a spirit of understanding, tolerance, friendship among peoples, peace and universal brotherhood, and in full consciousness that their energy and talents should be devoted to the service of their fellow people.
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
considering
that the Declaration of the Rights of the Child calls upon parents, upon men and women as individuals, and upon voluntary organizations, local authorities and national Governments to recognize the rights set forth therein and strive for their observance,
1. Recommends
Governments of Member States, the specialized agencies concerned and the appropriate non-governmental organizations to publicize as widely as possible the text of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child;
2. Requests
the Secretary-General to have the Declaration widely disseminated and, to that end, to use every means at his disposal to publish and distribute texts in all languages possible.
[1] In keeping with the spirit of this declaration, the publisher has edited gender language.
OF THE CHILD
ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY
BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
OF THE UNITED NATIONS
ON NOVEMBER 20, 1959
PREAMBLE
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have, in the Charter, reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights and in the dignity and worth of the human person, and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
Whereas the United Nations has, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status,
Whereas the child by reason of physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth,
Whereas the need for such special safeguards has been stated in the Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child of 1924, and recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the statutes of specialized agencies and inter-national organizations concerned with the welfare of children,
Whereas mankind owes to the child the best it has to give,
Now therefore, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
proclaims this
DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
to the end that children[1] may have a happy childhood and enjoy for their own good and for the good of society the rights and freedoms herein set forth, and calls upon parents, upon men and women as individuals, and upon voluntary organizations, local authorities and national Governments to recognize these rights and strive for their observance by legislative and other measures progressively taken in accordance with the following principles:
PRINCIPLE 1
The child shall enjoy all the rights set forth in this Declaration. Every child, without any exception whatsoever, shall be entitled to these rights, without distinction or discrimination on account of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status, whether of the children or of their families.
PRINCIPLE 2
The child shall enjoy special protection, and shall be given opportunities and facilities, by law and by other means, to enable the child to develop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually, and socially in a healthy and normal manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity. In the enactment of laws for this purpose, the best interests of the child shall be the paramount considerations.
PRINCIPLE 3
The child shall be entitled from birth to a name and a nationality.
PRINCIPLE 4
The child shall enjoy the benefits of social security. The child shall be entitled to grow and develop in health; to this end, special care and protections shall be provided both to the child and to the child’s mother, including adequate pre-natal and post-natal care. The child shall have the right to adequate nutrition, housing, recreation, and medical services.
PRINCIPLE 5
The child who is physically, mentally, or socially handicapped shall be given the special treatment, education, and care required by the child’s particular condition.
PRINCIPLE 6
The child, for the full and harmonious develop-ment of personality, needs love and understanding. Children shall, wherever possible, grow up in the care and under the responsibility of their parents, and, in any case, in an atmosphere of affection and of moral and material security; children of tender years shall not, save in exceptional circumstances, be separated from their mother. Society and the public authorities shall have the duty to extend particular care to children without a family and to those without adequate means of support. Payment of State and the assistance towards the maintenance of children of large families is desirable.
PRINCIPLE 7
The child is entitled to receive education, which shall be free and compulsory, at least in the elementary stages. Children shall be given an education which will promote their general culture, and enable them, on a basis of equal opportunity, to develop their abilities, their individual judgment, and their sense of moral and social responsibility, and to become useful members of society.
The best interests of children shall be the guiding principle of those responsible for their education and guidance; that responsibility lies in the first place with their parents.
The child shall have full opportunity for play and recreation, which should be directed to the same purposes as education; society and the public authorities shall endeavor to promote the enjoyment of this right.
PRINCIPLE 8
The child shall in all circumstances be among the first to receive protection and relief.
PRINCIPLE 9
The child shall be protected against all forms of neglect, cruelty, and exploitation. Children shall not be the subject of traffic, in any form.
The child shall not be admitted to employment before an appropriate minimum age; children shall in no case be caused or permitted to engage in any occupation or employment which would prejudice their health or education, or interfere with their physical, mental, or moral development.
PRINCIPLE 10
The child shall be protected from practices which may foster racial, religious, and any other form of discrimination. Children shall be brought up in a spirit of understanding, tolerance, friendship among peoples, peace and universal brotherhood, and in full consciousness that their energy and talents should be devoted to the service of their fellow people.
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
considering
that the Declaration of the Rights of the Child calls upon parents, upon men and women as individuals, and upon voluntary organizations, local authorities and national Governments to recognize the rights set forth therein and strive for their observance,
1. Recommends
Governments of Member States, the specialized agencies concerned and the appropriate non-governmental organizations to publicize as widely as possible the text of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child;
2. Requests
the Secretary-General to have the Declaration widely disseminated and, to that end, to use every means at his disposal to publish and distribute texts in all languages possible.
[1] In keeping with the spirit of this declaration, the publisher has edited gender language.