UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: “Where are we at in recognising children’s rights in early childhood, three decades on …?”

Abstract

This special issue of the International Journal of Early Childhood (IJEC) recognises the 30th anniversary since the rights of children in international law were acknowledged in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC; United Nations 1989). Since that time, social reform agendas stemming from the Convention have been instrumental in addressing national and international policies in relation to the rights of children and youth. Broadly speaking, the UNCRC addresses children’s interests across “the three Ps”, covering children’s rights to provision, protection and participation. The early years are a “critical period for realizing children’s rights” (United Nations 2006, p. 3). When UNCRC came into force in 1989, the Committee on the Rights of the Child was also established as was required by Article 43. This committee monitors progress on the implementation of the UNCRC and also applies a process by which issues of importance to the recognition of children’s rights are investigated, either as specific provisions identified in UNCRC articles or general problems of implementation. Early childhood organisations and programs catering for children, aged birth to 8 years, at local, state and global levels have become more active in addressing young children’s rights, resulting in recommendations for how adults are expected to engage with young children. In this special issue, a range of articles from across the world are featured that explore how children’s rights have been enacted in early childhood education, and the challenges and opportunities that are afforded to young children and their families within a children’s rights agenda.