CHILDREN'S RIGHTS AND DUTIES
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is an international agreement setting out the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights of every child regardless of their race, religion or abilities. Through this convention adopted in 1989 to protect the children, the United Nations have decided that every community must give their children the chance to grow up and live in a safe and friendly environment. The convention clearly states that children need more protection as they are a vulnerable category of the society. It defines a child as every human being below the age of eighteen years. Children have many rights. They have the right to a name and a nationality from birth, education, health care, food, shelter, freedom and have a say about decisions affecting them. Children have also the right to be protected from any kind of maltreatment, abuse or violence. To make sure these rights are known and respected governments are encouraged to inform and educate parents and children about them. In this way children are prepared to be better leaders in a better society. Nevertheless, in many countries around the world, these children's rights are far from being respected. Child labour, forced marriage and female genital mutilations are some examples.,
But children don't only have rights, they also have duties. Children's duties must be defined as what they must do in their society. There are many things that children must do when they are at home with their parents. They must respect and obey their parents. They must also do housework, help and take care of their brothers and sisters. In addition, they must be polite to adults. Apart from home, children have duties at school. First, they must come to school on time every day and learn their lessons. Then, they must respect their teachers and be polite to them. Next, they must keep their school environment clean. Finally, they must behave in accordance with the school code of conduct. Living in a society requires to be good citizens and good citizens are those who know their rights and duties.
Adapted from : hhttps//www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention/convention-text-childrens-version