Global Child Advocacy

Positive Directions

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the landmark UN covenant that sets forth principles to support the creation of protective and nurturing environments for children to grow and develop. By mobilizing collaborations between the government, national child service partners, social agencies, individuals within the community, families, and youth, social movements can be fostered that ensure that the special legal protections assigned to young people are safeguarded and upheld with dignity and fairness.

Universal success in meeting goals for children's well-being has remained elusive, but the current conditions of young people are not absolute. Positive change for many young lives has resulted from progress in the education of greater numbers of children, initiatives to protect children from abuse and exploitation, and national commitments to children's issues. Social movements that promote the rights of children and advance humanity have made tremendous strides in the past decade. Continued mobilization of resources for a global movement to prevent the suffering of children is of paramount importance to secure the dignity and worth of children worldwide.

Challenges

Exposure to traumatic experiences has both short-term and long-term consequences in a child's life and can contribute to physical and mental health problems as well as educational impairments. Investments in children's present and future functioning necessitate allocation of resources to address education, physical health, socioemotional well-being, and economic security. Children are injured and killed in armed conflicts and exploited in the commercial sex industry. The goal is not only to reduce child fatalities that stem from abuse, exploitation, disease, conflicts, malnour-ishment, and other areas of vulnerability, but also to improve the quality of children's lives.

There is now more common acceptance of the critical periods of childhood and of the cumulative effects of missed opportunities for physical, emotional, and educational development. Regardless of age, children need secure and supportive environments where caring adults advocate for their safety and optimal functioning. [Page 374]Whereas young children require family and community-based supports that enhance the skills of caregivers to build a strong foundation for their development, adolescents require opportunities to help shape their future through active participation. Advocacy initiatives can provide the impetus for accessing the energy and ingenuity of youth who can be partners in improving the future status of their peers. Moreover, global efforts are an asset to children's issues by strengthening international collaboration and the sharing of information that can foster children's investment in the rights of the young.

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