There has been much debate about the rights of children, and whether a child’s needs and his rights, are one and the same thing. In reality, these two concepts overlap, but a clear distinction between needs and rights still remains. Needs are more encompassing then rights, but rights have the power of obligation attached to them. Therefore, through inference we can say that child rights are those needs that are bound by obligations on the part of both the state and the child’s caregivers.

What are these rights then would be the next question? The United Nations convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) provides a convenient set of guiding principles that fundamentally shapes the way in which we view these rights. Attended and signed by all nations in November 1989 (with the exceptions of Somalia and the United States), the convention had more signatories than any other international convention. It addresses all aspects of a child’s life, covering human rights for children in the civil, political, social, and economic realms. It establishes a set of legal norms for the protection and well-being of children and is an integral part of the broader human rights system.

However, while it is most important that these basic human rights, as outlined by the Conference of the Rights of Child are implemented by the state in the form of laws, and the society in the form of altered social norms that overlook the rights of children – it is also important that children be aware of their basic rights, as well as the rights of other children around them. While this can be done at many levels, human rights education can be imparted to the child most effectively in the classroom. The teacher and classroom can become important facilitators and spaces for raising awareness regarding the rights of the child.

Child Rights: Why and How?
Educating children about their own rights is important in order to provide them with protection; they need to have a sense of what is fair or unfair. Children are not born with this knowledge and like most things that they acquire, an understanding of their rights is an important component of their learning process as well. Also, given the multiple effects that early education has and the wide circle of its influence, it is important that educating children about their rights is done constructively; through gearing the child with knowledge, skills, values and practices that will facilitate for a more just society and these children responsible members of that society.

Raising awareness on the rights of the child in the school is normally done in three distinct forms; education about child rights, education through child rights and education for child rights. Education about child rights entails information on the rights that the child is entitled to and ways in which they are provided or denied. Education through child rights involves learning through active involvement in giving the children their rights and making them respect others’ rights. Education for child rights, however, is inclusive of both of the previously mentioned methods, and is the most effective. It not provides children with the required understanding about their own rights, but also offers a set of skills required to be more sensitive and respecting individuals when it comes to the rights of others.