The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is an important agreement by countries who have promised to protect children’s rights. The Convention explains who children are, all their rights, and the responsibilities of governments. All the rights are connected, they are all equally important and they cannot be taken away from children.
The Convention was created in 1989. Since then, we have seen how environmental harm and climate change are threatening children’s rights globally. Children are demanding urgent action, and for their rights to be protected.
In 2023, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child launched official guidance for governments called General Comment No.26 which explains how children’s rights are related to the environment and climate change, and what governments must do to protect them.
To create this General Comment, children and adults across the world were invited to share their views on what should be included. Over 16,000 contributions from children across over 100 countries were received.
Our Planet, Our Rights, Our Voices is a window into the key messages, experiences and calls to action children have shared. It has been created by terre des hommes and the Child Rights Environment Initiative (CERI) together with members of the General Comment No.26 Children’s Advisory Team. As far as possible, we have used children’s own words to illustrate their visions for a clean, healthy and sustainable world.
Meet the team! The Committee, with support from terre des hommes, created a global Children’s Advisory Team for the development of General Comment No. 26. We are between 10 and 17 years of age, from different regions and backgrounds.
