Helping children in need means realising their rights
What do children need to lead a good life? There are clear answers to this question: they neededucation, a non-violent upbringing, enough leisure time and many other things that protect and empower them and allows their active participation.
Furthermore: they have a right to all these things. This was enshrined in 1989 by the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child. Nearly all countries throughout the world have approved the Convention. However, there is still a long way to go before the consistent realisation and protection of children’s rights are achieved: one billion girls and boys are still living in poverty. More than 171 million are exploited, 200,000 of them as combatants in wars and conflicts.
Kindernothilfe has set itself the task of promoting the implementation of the rights of children and young people. This is exactly what anyone, wanting to provide lasting help to children in need, has to do: play their part in ensuring that children’s rights are realised. How do we do this? Through a specific working approach: the Child Rights Approach. This determines how our projects are run overseas as well as all our educational and awareness-raising work.
What is the Child Rights Approach?
Working in accordance with the Child Rights Approach means: respecting children as independent personalities and bearers of human rights as well as allowing them to participate accordingly. It also means taking a clear stand based on values and principles and pursuing a clear goal: the realisation of children’s rights.
To achieve this, we, together with our local partner organisations, not only take action to combat severe child rights violations such as abuse, but also bring our influence to bear on social and political structures, so that, in the long term, they become fairer and that the people and institutions concerned protect and pursue the realisation of children’s rights. For Kindernothilfe, child protection is a key aspect.
Furthermore: they have a right to all these things. This was enshrined in 1989 by the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child. Nearly all countries throughout the world have approved the Convention. However, there is still a long way to go before the consistent realisation and protection of children’s rights are achieved: one billion girls and boys are still living in poverty. More than 171 million are exploited, 200,000 of them as combatants in wars and conflicts.
Kindernothilfe has set itself the task of promoting the implementation of the rights of children and young people. This is exactly what anyone, wanting to provide lasting help to children in need, has to do: play their part in ensuring that children’s rights are realised. How do we do this? Through a specific working approach: the Child Rights Approach. This determines how our projects are run overseas as well as all our educational and awareness-raising work.
What is the Child Rights Approach?
Working in accordance with the Child Rights Approach means: respecting children as independent personalities and bearers of human rights as well as allowing them to participate accordingly. It also means taking a clear stand based on values and principles and pursuing a clear goal: the realisation of children’s rights.
To achieve this, we, together with our local partner organisations, not only take action to combat severe child rights violations such as abuse, but also bring our influence to bear on social and political structures, so that, in the long term, they become fairer and that the people and institutions concerned protect and pursue the realisation of children’s rights. For Kindernothilfe, child protection is a key aspect.
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Realising children's rights instead of violating them: who is responsible for this?
First and foremost, the nation states have the responsibility of ensuring that children have access to education and healthcare, that they are not exploited or abused, that they have sufficient leisure time and much more besides, to enable them to lead a self-determined life. By ratifying these children’s rights, they have committed themselves to their realisation – for example, by creating a sufficient number of appropriate facilities, providing long-term financing for them and operating them to high quality standards.
But parents, relatives and civil society as a whole also share responsibility for ensuring that children’s rights become reality – for example, by not hitting children or sending them to school instead of forcing them to work.
There are numerous reasons for the inadequate implementation of children’s rights: nation states may lack sufficient interest and/or money or choose to invest it in other areas such as the military. Moreover, officials and authorities, as well as parents and large sections of civil society, often have no awareness of children’s rights or deliberately disregard and/or suppress them.
But parents, relatives and civil society as a whole also share responsibility for ensuring that children’s rights become reality – for example, by not hitting children or sending them to school instead of forcing them to work.
There are numerous reasons for the inadequate implementation of children’s rights: nation states may lack sufficient interest and/or money or choose to invest it in other areas such as the military. Moreover, officials and authorities, as well as parents and large sections of civil society, often have no awareness of children’s rights or deliberately disregard and/or suppress them.
Realising children's rights: how does it work?
To promote the implementation of children’s rights, we work along with our partners and through our projects to eliminate serious child rights violations. We also use our influence on social and political structures to ensure that they become fairer and that the people and institutions concerned work for the sustainable realisation and protection of children’s rights.
At the beginning of every project, an analysis of the children’s surrounding context is carried out. We use this to examine the child rights violations that girls and boys most commonly experience. On the basis of this, our partners work with those involved in the project to develop appropriate measures to facilitate the long-term realisation of children’s rights. This happens on three levels.
1. The individual level:In the event of serious child rights violations, we intervene to eliminate them as quickly as possible. For example: if children have no opportunity to access education, we give them this access. Or, if children have been victims of exploitation, we ensure they are protected from further exploitation. Or, when children have nothing to eat or have no access to healthcare, we ensure they have food and healthcare.
2. The civil society level: Together with our local partners, we empower children, their families and civil society. For example, by raising awareness of children’s rights, their importance and how to demand, realise and safeguard them. We also support people’s efforts to organise themselves and network – to ensure that their voices become even more powerful and effective.
3. The political level: Our partners also influence local politicians and authorities through lobbying and advocacy, for example by demanding that more money is allocated to education.
Realising children’s rights through political and campaign work in Luxembourg: Luxembourg, too, we are doing everything we can to promote the realisation of children’s rights in developing countries. We are actively involved in alliances that support children in developing countries.
One example is the UN individual right of appeal for children, which has finally become reality after 10 years of political work. Through campaigns in Germany, including Action!Kidz, we raise public awareness in this country of the living situation of children in developing countries and encourage them to get involved.