The Convention on the Rights of the Child applies to every child, everywhere and all the time.
The Ombudsperson for Children
A local, independent children's ombudsman
The Ombudsman for Children is a non-profit organisation. We work locally, regionally and nationally, always close to children. Our office is located in Uppsala.
We have a non-profit public partnership with Uppsala Municipality and Region Uppsala.
We are completely independent from local, regional and national authorities. This gives us great opportunities to act in favour of the rights of children and young people.
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Everyone under the age of 18 is a child and is covered by the UNCRC.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child is very much about guaranteeing children's and young people's right to a safe and healthy childhood.
Parents and families have important responsibilities under the Convention. The state has a responsibility to protect the child from, for example, neglect, exploitation or abuse.
Since 1990, Swedish laws have had to comply with the CRC. The entire CRC has been law in Sweden since 2020.
”The ”principles' are the main articles
There are 54 articles in the CRC. Four of them are called ”principles.” These articles summarise the CRC. We formulate them like this:
- Article 2: All children have equal value. No one should be treated less favourably.
- Article 3: Decision-makers must think about what is best for children.
- Article 6: Every child has the right to live and develop.
- Article 12: Decision-makers must listen to children.
All children are equal.
No one should be treated less favourably.
All children have the same rights. It doesn't matter what the child looks like or behaves like, or what the parents are like.
All children are different. Therefore, adults need to treat children differently. Not all children should be treated the same - but equally well.
Every child has a responsibility not to violate anyone else's rights.
Decision-makers must think about what is best for children.
Everything that is decided about children must be as good as possible. Therefore, decision-makers should consider both what children want and what children need.
If adults are going to make decisions about a group of children, it should be as good as possible for each child and for the group.
All children have the right to live and develop.
Every child in the world has the right to have the best life possible. Children should be able to play and go to school, have security, food, healthcare and a home to live in.
All adults must help to ensure the well-being of all children.
Decision-makers must listen to children
Those in charge must ask children what they want. They must listen to the answer and care about it.
This does not mean that children should decide everything or always get their way. The older or more mature a child is, the more adults should care about what the child thinks.
”Whole and indivisible”
In addition to the four principles, there are 37 ”articles of substance”. They deal with what rights every child should have. The last 13 of the Convention's 54 articles deal with how States should implement the Convention.
The non-fiction articles should be read as a whole. It is not possible to read one substantive article without paying attention to what is written in the others. It is often said that the Convention is ”whole and indivisible”.”
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The entire Convention on the Rights of the Child
Read the Convention on the Rights of the Child in an abridged, easy-to-read or full-text version.
Read the Convention on the Rights of the Child
Decisions where children are concerned
The older and more mature the child, the more the decision-maker must care about the opinions.
When taking decisions concerning children
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Making children's rights work requires knowledge, understanding and action.