Not Allowed
Last week I introduced The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
This astounding document lists thirty basic rights promised to children everywhere. Today lets look more closely at several of these rights – freedom, home and family, and protection from harm and torture.
NOT ALLOWED
No person
No government
Has the right to take away a child’s freedom
Has the right to take a child away from family
NOT ALLOWED
No one has the right to make a child
A slave
A sex object
A child soldier forced to kill
A prisoner kept in a cage
NOT ALLOWED ….
But even in “this land of liberty” freedom does not sing for all children.
What can we do?
Be aware. Be vocal. Believe in the rights of children, all children.
Support national and international organizations that every day, everywhere, work to protect children so their dreams can become their future.
Article 1. We are all born free and equal and should be treated equally.
Article 2. These human rights belong to every person.
Article 3. Every adult and child has the right to life and to live in safety.
Article 4. No one has the right to make another person a slave. Any kind of slave!
Article 9. No one has the right to put people – adults or children – in prison without a good reason, to keep them there, or to send them away from their own country.
The Universal Declaration lists 30 rights that belong to everyone, rights that no one—no nation—should be allowed to take away. These rights continue to be the basis for international human rights law. The Declaration was written by the United Nations in 1948 and ratified by nearly all nations. To this very day, this Declaration remains a living document. It is the most translated document in the world.
Next post will look at every child’s right to have an education.