On 20 November 1989, adopting Convention on the Rights of the Child, United Nations (UN) General Assembly designated November 20 as "World Children's Day" to protect children and improve their living conditions. The Convention on the Rights of the Child opened the door for fundamental changes in the understanding of children's rights at a global scale. Now, this Convention is the fundamental legal document for children's rights.
In the Convention of the Rights of the Child, referring to the fundamental principles of the UN, provisions of the human right declarations and agreements, it was emphasized that international all children have the right to special attention and assistance and that international cooperation is necessary to improve their living conditions. In the Convention, children's rights are regulated in detail; it is aimed to protect children from all kinds of neglect, abuse, ill-treatment, and exploitation and to ensure their inclusion in social life as independent individuals.
Despite the intense efforts for protecting children's rights, today, mass and intense violations of children's rights continue to occur in different parts of the world. November 20 celebrated as the “World Children's Day” coincided with a time where children massacres are carried out in Gaza this year. Unfortunately, it is children who suffer the most from Israel's attacks against the Palestinian civilian population since 7 October 2023, which violate international law and humanitarian law norms and constitute war crimes. Many children lost their lives in the attacks. In the face of such atrocities, the remaining children continue to fight to survive, deprived of basic human needs.
According to the "States Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for rules of international humanitarian law applicable to them in armed conflicts which are relevant to the child. [...] In accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect the civilian population in armed conflicts, States Parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure protection and care of children who are affected by an armed conflict" provision of the Article 38 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is the most widely accepted human rights document, signatory states have obligations to ensure compliance with international humanitarian law for the protection of children living in Gaza. Regarding this issue, all international institutions and organizations, especially UN member states, need to take a stand to protect the rights of children in the region.
As Human Rights and Equality Institution of Türkiye, main mission of which is to protect the right to equal treatment of persons on the basis of human dignity and prevention of discrimination in exercising the legally acknowledged rights and freedoms, we celebrate November 20, World Children's Rights Day hoping for a world where all children have their rights, and we invite responsible actors to take an active role against violations of children's rights.