Some people think that kids don't have rights simply because they are kids. Those people are wrong. Everyone has rights, including kids. And thanks to Raymond Modiz, we're able to show you what those rights are. I believe in the rights of children, and I believe that should respect the child just as we want them to respect us.
1. We are the children of the world. No matter who our parents are, where we live, or what we believe, treat us as equals. We deserve the best the world has to give.
2. Protect us, so that we may grow in freedom and with dignity.
3. Let us each be given a name and have a land to call our own.
4. Keep us warm and sheltered. Give us food to eat and a place to play. If we are sick, nurse and comfort us.
5. If we are handicapped in body or mind, treasure us even more and meet our special needs.
6. Let us grow up in a family. If we cannot be cared for by our own family, take us in and love us just the same.
7. Teach us well, so that we may lead happy and productive lives. But let us play, so that we may teach ourselves.
8. In times of trouble, help us among the first. The future of the world depends on us.
9. Protect us from cruelty and from those who would use us badly.
10. Raise us with tolerance, freedom, and love. As we grow up, we too will promote peace and understanding throughout the world.
The above was sent by Raymond Modiz. Raymond also sent the Declaration and Meditation concerning children's rights.
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, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status,
Whereas the child, by reason of his 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 international 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 he may have a happy childhood and enjoy for his 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. All children, without any exception whatsoever, shall be entitled to these rights, without distinction or discrimination on account of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, whether of himself or of his family.
PRINCIPLE 2
The child shall enjoy special protection, and shall be given
opportunities and facilities, by law and by other means, to enable him 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 consideration.
PRINCIPLE 3
The child shall be entitled from his birth to a name and a nationality.
PRINCIPLE 4
The child shall enjoy the benefits of social security. He shall be entitled to grow and develop in health; to this end special care and protection shall be provided to him and to his 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 his particular condition.
PRINCIPLE 6
The child, for the full and harmonious development of his personality, needs love and understanding. He shall, wherever possible, grow up in the care and under the responsibility of his parents, and in any case in an atmosphere of affection and of moral and material security; a child of tender years shall not, save in exceptional circumstances, be separated from his 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 other 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. He shall be given an education which will promote his general culture, and enable him on a basis of equal opportunity to develop his abilities, his individual judgement, and his sense of moral and social responsibility, and to become a useful member of society.
The best interests of the child shall be the guiding principle of those responsible for his education and guidance; that responsibility lies in the first place with his 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 endeavour 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. He shall not be the subject of traffic, in any form.
The child shall not be admitted to employment before an
appropriate minimum age; he shall in no case be caused or permitted to engage in any occupation or employment which would prejudice his health or education, or interfere with his 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. He shall be brought up in a spirit of understanding, tolerance, friendship among peoples, peace and universal brotherhood and in full consciousness that his energy and talents should be devoted to the service of his fellow men.
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