Twenty years since... Two significant dates in November (Nov 2009)

Twenty years since... Two significant dates in November (Nov 2009)

On 20 November 1989, the UN General Assembly adopted the treaty that spells out the human rights of all young people under 18 years. It has become the most universally-accepted human rights treaty; all UN states except Somalia and the USA have agreed to be bound by its provisions, including New Zealand which ratified it in 1993. The Convention introduced policy principles that have since become part of our political landscape - such as ‘action in the best interests of the child' and the requirement that children have a say in matters affecting them.

Just as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights urged that ‘every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights', article 42 of the Convention requires New Zealand to ‘undertake to make the principles and provisions of the Convention widely known, by appropriate and active means, to adults and children alike'.

New Zealand's breach of these commitments was one of the main drivers behind the Human Rights in Education Initiative.

*Celebrate UNCRoC's 20 years by doing your bit to promote it:

· Visit Unicef's UNCRoC website to learn more about the Convention

· Download a poster of a simplified version of UNCRoC from Save the Children or a summary poster from the Office of the Children's Commissioner:

(in English & te reo Māori)

· Introduce it to every young person you know. (One page summary. Version for teenagers. Full text)

· Celebrate! See below for more ideas.

The other key anniversary? The opening of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989.