Children have rights!

The Declaration of Human Rights was written in 1948 and set out the rights of every person in the world. Children have their own set of rights until they turn 18. These were written in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1989.

What's in the UNCRC?

The UNCRC is a list of children and young people’s rights written so that they would know exactly what their rights were and what adults should do to make them happen. The UK Government signed up to this Convention in 1990.

Altogether there are 42 'articles' saying what your rights are.

Here are the basic ones:

• The right to protection (right to life, right not to be kidnapped, right not to be abused)
• The right to provision (right to good standard of housing, right to medical care, right to education)
• The right to participation (right to have your opinion listened to, right to play)

How to stand up for your rights

If you think that one of your basic rights is being threatened or denied, you can make a complaint by calling the national helpline "You've got the right" which gives advice for children on human rights:

Freephone: 0800 32 88 759 (Standard charges apply from mobiles. If you use a textphone dial 18001 first).

Lines open: Tue - Thur from 3.30pm to 5.30pm

Also have a look at the advice page on the Children's Rights Alliance for England website

Understanding your rights

It's important to us that you understand the information that affects you. Sometimes it can help when you put your thoughts and feelings about rights into your own words or images. This can help you and other young people to understand.

This is an example of one creative idea from primary school children who made a poster about the Children and Young People's Plan 2010-13, to let other children know about it. (Click on the image to see a bigger version)

Why don't you make your own poster about Children's Rights!

How we support your rights

One of your rights is the right to have express your views on decisions that affect your life, and have those taken seriously by the people making the decisions (Article 12 UNCRC). Read about how we have been listening to views and acting on them in Oxfordshire:

What you said...What we Did 2010 (PDF, 1.13MB)

What you said...What we did 2011 (PDF, 568KB)

Find out more...

For more information on your rights, please visit:

• www.crae.org.uk (Children's Rights Alliance for England)
• www.unicef.org 
• The Children in Care Council has been set up to listen to the views and opinions of young people in care and leaving care.