Difference between revisions of "Children's NGOs"
From NGO Handbook
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==Evolution of the Children’s NGO== | ==Evolution of the Children’s NGO== | ||
| − | Social reformers in the early 19th century were the first proponents of children’s rights. As early as 1853, when orphan asylums and almshouses were the only "social services" available for poor and homeless children, Charles Loring Brace founded the Children’s Aid Society (CAS) in New York. CAS services included aid to children, working women, needy families and disabled boys and girls. Creation of the U.S. Children’s Bureau in 1912 signaled the commitment of the United States Federal Government to systematic study and advocacy of children at the national level. | + | Social reformers in the early 19th century were the first proponents of children’s rights. As early as 1853, when orphan asylums and almshouses were the only "social services" available for poor and homeless children, Charles Loring Brace founded the Children’s Aid Society (CAS) in New York. CAS services included aid to children, working women, needy families and disabled boys and girls. Creation of the U.S. Children’s Bureau in 1912 signaled the commitment of the United States Federal Government to the systematic study and advocacy of children at the national level. |
The first major international organization whose mandate was focused primarily on securing universal rights for children was the Save the Children Fund. Responding to the ravages of World War I, in April 1913, British philanthropist Eglantyne Jebb formed a pressure group , Fight the Famine Council, to persuade the British government to end the Allied blockade on the German and Austro-Hungarian economies. The success of the Fund led to the formation of Britain’s Save the Children Fund, and ultimately culminated in the International Save the Children Union (Union International de Secours a l'Enfant), which was founded in Geneva. In 1923, Jebb wrote the Children's Charter, which was subsequently adopted by the League of Nations as The Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959). This historic document laid the foundation for the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. | The first major international organization whose mandate was focused primarily on securing universal rights for children was the Save the Children Fund. Responding to the ravages of World War I, in April 1913, British philanthropist Eglantyne Jebb formed a pressure group , Fight the Famine Council, to persuade the British government to end the Allied blockade on the German and Austro-Hungarian economies. The success of the Fund led to the formation of Britain’s Save the Children Fund, and ultimately culminated in the International Save the Children Union (Union International de Secours a l'Enfant), which was founded in Geneva. In 1923, Jebb wrote the Children's Charter, which was subsequently adopted by the League of Nations as The Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959). This historic document laid the foundation for the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. | ||
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By the 1920s, international organizations had been formed to facilitate development of international treaties in the field of child protection. Between 1919 and 1922, the International Labor Organization (ILO) developed three conventions, or treaties, regarding child protection: The ILO Convention Fixing the Minimum Age for Admission of Children to Industrial Employment (1919), the Convention Regarding the Night Work of Young Persons Employed in Industry (1919), and the International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children (1922). These were the first international treaties that expressly addressed the protection of children. | By the 1920s, international organizations had been formed to facilitate development of international treaties in the field of child protection. Between 1919 and 1922, the International Labor Organization (ILO) developed three conventions, or treaties, regarding child protection: The ILO Convention Fixing the Minimum Age for Admission of Children to Industrial Employment (1919), the Convention Regarding the Night Work of Young Persons Employed in Industry (1919), and the International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children (1922). These were the first international treaties that expressly addressed the protection of children. | ||
| − | While international standards protecting the rights of children in the workplace were being set, nongovernmental organizations were emerging to specifically advocate on behalf of children. | + | While international standards protecting the rights of children in the workplace were being set, nongovernmental organizations were emerging to specifically advocate on behalf of children. In 1937, in an effort to aid the millions of families and children displaced by the second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), J. Calvitt Clarke, a Presbyterian minister, founded China’s Children Fund (CCF, which would in 1951 become Christian Children’s Fund). |
| − | In 1937, in an effort to aid the millions of families and children displaced by the second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), J. Calvitt Clarke, a Presbyterian minister, founded China’s Children Fund (CCF, which would in 1951 become Christian Children’s Fund). | ||
| − | With the creation of the United Nations in 1945, substantial resources and political support were leveraged on behalf of children, not only by individual world governments, but also by U.N. agencies such as UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) and many other nongovernmental organizations (e.g. International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, CCF). With broad-based international support, the United Nations and its constituent agencies worked systematically to provide for the needs of children. | + | With the creation of the United Nations in 1945, substantial resources and political support were leveraged on behalf of children, not only by individual world governments, but also by U.N. agencies such as UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) and many other nongovernmental organizations (e.g. International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, CCF). With broad-based international support, the United Nations and its constituent agencies worked systematically to provide for the needs of children. |
==Children’s rights as international law== | ==Children’s rights as international law== | ||
Revision as of 08:04, 5 August 2008
This article is based on an article written for the NGO Handbook by Kate Perchuk titled "Children's Rights and Nonprofit Advocacy."
Over the course of the 19th century, the principles of children’s rights have evolved from the intellectual concern of European social theorists to an international charter drafted by the United Nations and ratified by 191 governments. The participation of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) has been and continues to be essential to the effort of the world’s nations to uphold the standards articulated by the U.N.’s Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). NGO contributions to the global movement for children -- advocating for youth, monitoring compliance with the CRC, and coordinating aid and development programs -- have helped build a safer world for children.
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