18 Candles

20.11.2007

The Convention on the Rights of the Child Reaches Majority

18 Candles is a present offered to Miss Convention on the occasion of the attainment of her age of majority. It is also as a tribute to all persons who have worked and are continuing to strive to enforce children’s rights. It is offered by Office for High Commissioner for Human Rights  and Institut international des droits de l’enfant (IDE).

This booklet brings together eighteen articles which celebrate the eighteenth birthday of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The authors of the articles range from the High Commissioner for Human Rights, representatives of the Council of Europe, the Chairperson and former Chairperson of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Members and former Members of the Committee, the Secretary-General’s independent expert on violence against children, child rights activists and representatives of non-governmental organizations, and representatives of UNICEF, the United Nations body which takes its inspiration from the terms of the Convention. Most importantly, several of the articles are authored by children, who in clear and frank language, write of what the Convention means to them, and in some cases, how they believe that they have not fully enjoyed its promise.

18 Candles avaliable at  http://www.ohchr.org/english/about/publications/docs/crc18.pdf.