St. Mary’s a Rights Respecting School United Nations United Nations Children’s International Emergency Fund – UNICEF United Nations Convention for the Rights of the Child - UNCRC Rights Respecting School Award

What is the United Nations?

What is UNICEF? Help children in emergencies Ensure children have a healthy start in life Ensure children have an education Ensure children are kept safe I work for UNICEF, United Nations Children's Fund. UNICEF works world wide – in 155 developing countries to improve the lives of children . UNICEF’s aim being that children, no matter where they are born, will be able to grow up to lead happier, healthier and safer lives, to grow up to reach their full potential, to be protected from abuse, neglect, exploitation. Unicef works in emergencies and also long term development projects – education, water and sanitation, health and child protection. Today one of our priorities are Early Childhood development working to ensure that every child has access to nutrition, water and sanitation, education and protection. We are working to protect all children from preventable deaths and disabilities through immunisation and working to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and ensure that children and young people already affected by the disease are cared for. UNICEF bases its work on a document called the UNCRC – and part of UNICEFs work in the UK is to raise awareness of issues affecting children around the world and lobby government to support children's rights. What is the UNCRC? UNICEF - United Nations Children’s International Emergency Fund 3 3

It is an international agreement on the rights of all children. What is the UNCRC? It is an international agreement on the rights of all children. Article 42 states that all children and people working with children should know about the UNCRC 4

In Pakistan, millions remain affected by the massive flooding that began in July 2010 and spread through most of the country. Many are returning to homes damaged by floodwater and lost livelihoods. Meanwhile, the arrival of winter has made the need for shelter increasingly acute. UNICEF is working with partners to  meet the needs of the flood-affected populations, including providing therapeutic feeding to treat malnutrition, distributing winter clothes and blankets, delivering immunisation programmes and running temporary learning centres for children to continue their education.

Education

Healthcare

Haiti Over the past year, the children and communities of Haiti have faced overwhelming challenges, ranging from the devastating earthquake that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives on January 12 2010, to a cholera outbreak, to floods and other disasters. The following photos focus on nine different areas in which UNICEF has helped - and is continuing to help - to protect the rights of children in the country over the past 12 months, including nutrition, water, cholera prevention and education.

Article 1: 'A child means every human being below the age of 18 years Article 1: 'A child means every human being below the age of 18 years.' The Convention on the Rights of the Child is a living document. Adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 November 1989, it is the most endorsed human rights treaty in the world. It celebrates childhood and codifies in international law the rights due every child. Siblings outside their home in Brazil.

Article 2 Article 2: Children must be treated 'without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of... race, colour, sex, language, religion... or other status'. Children stand in a slum area of Nairobi, Kenya.

Article 3 Article 3: 'In all actions concerning children... the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.' An infant at a community health outreach post near Makeni, Sierra Leone.

ARTICLE 5 & 18 Articles 5 and 18: State signatories must 'respect the... rights and duties of parents... [and recognise that] both parents have common responsibilities for the upbringing... of the child'. A family, Sri Lanka.

Article 6 Article 6: 'Every child has the inherent right to life... survival and development.' A baby boy sleeps under a mosquito net in a camp for the displaced, Pakistan.

Article 7 & 8 Articles 7 and 8: 'The child shall be registered immediately after birth and... have the right... to a name... a nationality... [and] to preserve his or her identity.' A nomadic Masai tribeswoman with her grandchild, Kenya.

Articles 9 & 10 Articles 9 and 10: 'A child shall not be separated from his or her parents against their will... [and shall be permitted to cross national borders] for... family reunification.' A boy is reunited with his mother, Indonesia.

Articles 12 & 14 Articles 12 and 14: 'The child who is capable of forming his or her own views [has] the right to express those views [and] the right to freedom of... thought, conscience and religion.' A boy in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Article 16 Article 16: 'No child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy... nor to unlawful attacks on his or her honour or reputation.' (Left) a former child soldier, Liberia.

Article 27 Article 27: Every child has 'the right to a standard of living adequate for [her/his] physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development.' The Convention on the Rights of the Child is a living document. Since its adoption, countries have created national laws to help implement it and two Optional Protocols have entered into force. An impoverished indigenous girl, Namibia.

Article 28 & 29 Article 28 & 29: State signatories must 'recognise the right of the child to education... [that develops] the child's personality, talents and mental and physical abilities.' Displaced girls attend school, Pakistan.

Article 30: Children of 'ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities Article 30: Children of  'ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities...shall not be denied the right to enjoy his or her own culture... religion or... language.' Cousins from an indigenous community, Viet Nam.

Article 31 Article 31: States must recognise 'the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child.' Boys play amid ruins in Mogadishu, Somalia.

Articles 32 & 36 Articles 32 & 36: Children must be 'protected from economic exploitation... from [hazardous] work [and] all other forms of exploitation.' Goldmine workers, DR Congo.

Article 33: States shall 'protect children from the illicit use of Article 33: States shall 'protect children from the illicit use of...drugs and...prevent the use of children in [their] production and trafficking.' A young man smokes heroin in Male, Maldives.

Article 34 Article 34: States shall 'protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.' A 12-year-old girl who was raped by government soldiers, Sudan.

Article 35 Article 35: States shall 'prevent the abduction of, sale of or traffic in children for any purpose or in any form.' A woman whose 16-year-old daughter was trafficked, protects her identity, Lao PDR.

The Optional Protocol on the sale of children for sexual abuse protects 'the privacy and identity of child victims.' An 11-year-old sex worker with his pimp in Karachi, Pakistan.