Universal Children's Day. 20 November 2012

	20 November is celebrated as the international day for children.
	The United Nations General Assembly recommended in 1954 (resolution 836 (IX)) that all countries institute a Universal Children's Day, to be observed as a day of understanding between children and of activity promoting the welfare of the world's children. The date of 20 November marks the day on which the Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, in 1959, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in 1989. Despite this worldwide consensus on the importance of our children, 70% of the approximately 11 million child deaths every year are attributable to six potentially preventable causes: diarrhoea, malaria, neonatal infection, pneumonia, preterm delivery, or lack of oxygen at birth. These deaths occur mainly in the developing world. An Ethiopian child is 30 times more likely to die by his or her fifth birthday than a child in Western Europe. Among deaths of children, South-central Asia has the highest number of newborn deaths, while sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rates. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is taking a huge toll on children, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The number of children orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS is projected to reach 25 million by the end of the decade, 18 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa. This, along with only modest progress fighting malaria, means the threats facing child survival are as grave as ever. Sources: UN Dag Hammarskjöld Library, UNICEF Selected learning materials Study Guide on the Human Rights of Children and Youth (HREA) Conversation about child labour and the right to education with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education (15 June 2005) Children's Rights Here and Now (Amnesty International-USA) Fields of Hope: Educational Activities on Child Labor. Teacher's Guide "How to Protect Human Rights?" Lesson Plan: Children's Rights in the UN System of Human Rights Protection (Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Poland) Raising Children With Roots, Rights & Responsibilities: Celebrating the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (USA) Teaching for Human Rights: Pre-school and Grades 1-4 Teaching for Human Rights: Grades 5-10 International treaties on children's rights: - Convention on the Rights of the Child - Simplified version of the Convention on the Rights of the Child - Declaration of the Rights of the Child - African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child - ILO Convention (No. 138) concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment - ILO Convention (No. 182) concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor - Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict - Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography Useful links Right to Education Project International Labour Organization (ILO) on Child Labour Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) Organisations that promote and protect the rights of children & youth