Citation

Waterston T, Goldhagen J. Arch. Dis. Child. 2007; 92(2): 176-180.

Affiliation

Newcastle General Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne NE46BE, UK. a.j.r.waterston@ncl.ac.uk

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/adc.2006.098228

PMID

17264288

PMCID

PMC2083315

Abstract

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides a framework for improving children's lives around the world. It covers both individual child health practice and public health and provides a unique and child-centred approach to paediatric problems. The Convention applies to most child health problems and the articles are grouped into protection, provision and participation. Examples of the first are the right to protection from abuse, from economic exploitation and from illicit drugs. We examine one particular problem in each of these categories, specifically child labour, services for children with a disability and violence against children. The role of the paedialrician in applying a children's rights approach is discussed. Children's rights are increasingly being accepted around the world but still there is much more rhetoric paid to their value than genuine enforcement. Pediatricians can make a difference to the status of children worldwide by adopting a rights-based approach.

Language: en