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. Every child, 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 both 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.