The «Convention on Children’s Rights» 30 years after its approval
The 30th November 2019 marked the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the «Convention on Children’s Rights». Since it was approved and until now, much progress has been made but advances in favour of the poorest children in the world are still rare. So we need to renew commitment to Children’s Rights in order to find an answer to the old threats which still exist and to the new challenges which have arisen. Over the past 30 years, the rate of infant death in the world has dropped by 80% and that of children of school age who do not attend school has dropped by 10%. Moreover, many countries in the world have put in place legislative reforms and public policies following the Convention’s precepts. However, progress has not been uniform. In countries with low or middle incomes, children from poorer homes run a greater risk of dying from preventable causes before the age of 5, of not being vaccinated or, in the case of girls, of being forced to marry, than children from wealthier homes. In addition to these problems, there are new challenges for children at present, such as displacement due to the world migration crisis, which places children in extremely vulnerable conditions, and food insecurity which, together with the spread of diseases and long droughts, are a product of climate change.