Like adults, children and young people have human rights. Alongside the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, children and young people under the age of 18 have additional rights. Children survive and develop to their full potential when the special needs recognised by these rights are met. Children also have the right to special protection because of their vulnerability to exploitation and abuse.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child lays out the special rights granted to children and sets out the specific ways these rights should be ensured for them. The Convention recognises that children have the same human rights as adults, while also needing special protection so they can develop to their full potential.
The Convention is the most widely ratified human rights treaty in the world. Australia ratified the Convention in December 1990. By ratifying – in other words formally approving – the Convention, Australia has a duty to ensure that all children in Australia enjoy the rights set out in the Convention.
The four fundamental principles that guide how the Convention should be interpreted and put into practice are:
- the right of all children to enjoy all the rights of the Convention without discrimination of any kind.
- the best interests of the child should be a primary consideration
- the right to survival and development
- the right of all children to express their views freely on all matters affecting them
To make sure that countries are upholding their responsibilities to children under the Convention, the United Nations also created the Committee on the Rights of the Child. The Committee is a group of 18 independent experts that, every five years, reviews the performance of each country that has signed the Convention. The Committee makes recommendations on how countries can improve children’s rights and writes documents called General Comments to explain specific rights in more detail and provide advice on how these rights can be upheld.
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples recognises the need to respect and promote the rights of indigenous peoples. These rights come from the many social and cultural structures, spiritual traditions, histories and philosophies of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across Australia. For children and young people this declaration advances and reinforces the clear responsibilities of governments (and others) to respect, protect, and ensure the full realisation of all child rights.
According to the Australian Human Rights Commission, this declaration covers human rights as they relate to Indigenous people, and are supported by four key principles. These principles give guidance on how to fully realise the human rights of Aboriginal and Tores Strait Islander Peoples. These principles include:
- self-determination
- participation in decision making
- Indigenous data sovereignty,
- respect for, and protection of, culture
- equality and non-discrimination.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities outlines a set of rights that apply to all persons with all types of disabilities. Under article 7 this convention, children and young people with disabilities must enjoy all the same rights and fundamental freedoms as all other children. This convention also makes clear that age-appropriate adjustments (or adaptations) should made to ensure people with disability can claim their rights, and have their rights projected.
Article 7 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says:
- States Parties shall take all necessary measures to ensure the full enjoyment by children with disabilities of all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with other children.
- In all actions concerning children with disabilities, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.
- States Parties shall ensure that children with disabilities have the right to express their views freely on all matters affecting them, their views being given due weight in accordance with their age and maturity, on an equal basis with other children, and to be provided with disability and age-appropriate assistance to realise that right.
The Commissioner for Children and Young People plays an important role in ensuring that children and young people living in Tasmania can enjoy all their rights. The Commissioner holds governments and other decision-makers accountable for ensuring they meet their obligations to children and young people under the Convention and other international agreements. The Commissioner does this by
- advocating for the rights and interests of children and young people aged under 18
- promoting children’s participation in decisions that affect them
- promoting awareness of and respect for the rights of children and young people
- undertaking research about children’s rights
- reviewing and monitoring laws, policies and programs to ensure they protect and uphold children and young people’s rights.
Making Rights Real
Building on the work of former Commissioners, the Interim Commissioner has developed a child rights-based approach to monitoring and evaluating the rights of children and young people.
This new approach, Making Rights Real, is intended to ensure:
- children and young people are supported to claim their rights
- the government is supported to help realise its obligations to respect, protect and fulfil child rights.