Any human being below the age of eighteen is defined as a child by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and have rights related to human identity, association with parents, physical protection, food, education, healthcare, civil rights and freedom from discrimination on the basis of religion, color, gender, national origin, disability, ethnicity and other characteristics. Unfortunately, many of the children worldwide are being forced to face worst situations and are needed to be recognized as participants in society whose rights and duties should be recognized.

Children’s Human Rights

Sir William Blackstone recognized child’s right to receive protection, maintenance, and education from parents. In 1924, the children’s rights were defined as the right to receive the necessities for development and protection from exploitation. The hungry child has a right to be fed, the sick has a right to receive healthcare, the orphan and displaced has a right to receive shelter and a backward child has the right to be reclaimed. In 1948, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognized the need for motherhood and childhood and right of children to protection, assistance, and social protection. In 1959, the United Nations General Assembly articulated ten principles for the protection of child’s human rights. Some researchers are of the view that the children’s rights are not still well defined as there is not a single accepted definition or theory of children’s human rights.

Challenges for Children Worldwide

Children are our future and deserve to be protected and treated appropriately so they get the best footing in their lives. Regrettably, the children are facing worst situations in many nations around the world. They do not have physical protection and access to the basic needs of food, shelter, education, and healthcare. Learning about the challenges children have been facing worldwide can be an initial step to help them out.

Child Trafficking

Trafficking is a mounting issue prevalent in every region of the world particularly in the countries including Bangladesh, India, Sudan and Yemen. The children are being trafficked for the purpose of slavery, labor, and exploitation. Though human trafficking has been recognized as a serious crime worldwide, around 1.2 million children are traded each year according to the figures provided by the International Labor Organization. In UAE and other Gulf countries including Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and Sudan, the trafficked children are being used as jockeys in camel racing. The separation of children from their parents and their transportation to a country with a completely different culture and language leaves the adolescents dependent on their traffickers who abuse them and do not fulfill their basic needs of food and health.