A child is a person who has not yet reached the age of majority (usually 18 or 21 in some countries). Children have rights that must be respected and protected. These include the right to life, education, play and protection from abuse. They should be treated with dignity and respect and given the opportunity to express themselves and develop their personalities, talents and skills. Children should also be taught to understand their own and others’ autonomy, rights and differences.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is a legal document that sets out the minimum standards for the survival, development and protection of children throughout the world. It is a comprehensive set of rights for all children that states that all children must have access to quality basic education, health care and adequate nutrition. They must be protected from violence and exploitation, including sexual and physical abuse, harmful work and discrimination. They should be guaranteed the right to freedom of movement, and have their nationality recognised.

The rights of the child are enforceable through courts and other judicial institutions. They are also enshrined in international conventions such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has 196 signatory countries. The CRC has led to improvements in the lives of millions of children. Governments are changing laws, policies and investments to better protect children and promote their rights. There are more people who know about children’s rights and how to defend them. And many more children are receiving the education, health care and other services they need to live happy and productive lives.

But millions of children’s rights are still being violated every day. Some of these violations are carried out because of a child’s youth, lack of maturity or presumed incapacity, often based on assumptions about their sex, gender identity, religion or culture. These violations include child marriage, corporal punishment, virginity tests on girls, female genital mutilation, circumcision of boys, and forced or coerced sterilisation on intersex children and children with disabilities.

Other violations of children’s rights are the result of flawed or discriminatory laws and policies, such as depriving children of their parental rights, or preventing them from having a say in important decisions about themselves. Others are the result of poverty, war, disasters and other emergencies. Children must be protected when they are forced to leave school, work in hazardous jobs, travel long distances for food and water, flee from their homes or fight in wars.

Children need a home where they are loved and cared for, no matter what their family structure is or whether they have parents or not. They should have the right to live with their families in a safe environment that enables them to learn and grow and enjoy their childhoods. They should be able to choose their own vocation and develop their talents, creativity and spirituality. Their parents, whatever their relationship to them, should encourage and support them. They should have access to a good education that prepares them for active citizenship and they should be free of discrimination and prejudice.