The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the most widely ratified international human rights treaty in history. It changed the way we think about children – not as passive objects of care and charity but as human beings with distinct needs and rights.

It explains that all children have the right to grow up in a safe and healthy environment, with enough food, water and shelter. They also need an education that helps them to develop their personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their full potential. Children must be protected from all kinds of violence, including physical and emotional abuse, sexual exploitation and trafficking in persons, threats to their lives or health, and any other form of harmful treatment. The CRC also explains that children have the right to freedom of expression and to express their opinions about issues that affect them. They should be taken seriously when they make these views known.

Children have the right to rest and leisure, and to play and participate freely in cultural life and the arts. This includes the right to join and create groups and organizations to advocate for changes in society. They can share information with other people, even online, as long as adults check that the information is not harmful.

Governments must protect children from being kidnapped or sold, or taken to other countries to be exploited (taken advantage of). They should also protect them from all other forms of exploitation, such as forced labour or illegal adoption, organ donation and the selling of their bodies. Children should be kept with their parents unless it is not in their best interests, and they must have contact with both of them. If they live in different countries, parents should be allowed to travel between them so that their children can visit them.

All children, regardless of their economic or social status, have the right to a standard of living adequate for their physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development. This means that governments must provide children with the basic resources they need to enjoy this right. This includes the right to access free and quality education that allows them to achieve their potential.

They have the right to be safe from harm, including from war and disasters. This is why it is important for countries to have good laws, train their police and army in the use of de-escalation tactics to reduce the risk of violence against children. It is also vital for countries to make sure their schools are safe places where all children can learn and grow up in peace.

Millions of children continue to suffer violations of their rights around the world. They lose their childhoods when they are denied proper health care and nutrition, education, protection from violence, and a safe place to live. This is why World Vision works in more than 90 countries to improve the lives of children and their families. We are committed to realising the goals of the CRC and to working with others for a world where no child is left behind.