Celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

Posted on | November 26, 2009 | No Comments

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF recently published a special edition of the classic publication The State of the World’s Children, which provides an overview of the progress that has been made concerning children’s rights during the last 20 years.

The publication was released during a press conference in New York City a few days ago, during which UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman talked about the importance that the Convention has had in improving children’s lives. She argued, for example, that the guidelines and policies outlined in the Convention have been an important factor in the reduction of the annual number of deaths of children under the age of five; from 12.5 million in 1990 to fewer than 9 million last year.

Veneman also addressed the fact that today, around 84 percent of primary school-aged children are now in school and that the inequalities between girls and boys when it comes to schooling are shrinking. But nonetheless, much remains to be done, not least when it comes to children affected by HIV or other diseases, or living in violent conflicts and war.

Read more here.

An interactive version of the report, as well as the full publication available for download, can be found here.

Source: UNICEF.

Written by Fanny Johansson

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