The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: Every Child's Rights Protected
Every child, no matter where they live or what their circumstances, has fundamental rights. Not privileges that can be taken away, but fundamental human rights that belong to them simply because they're children.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) sets out exactly what those rights are—and what governments must do to protect them.
Adopted in 1989, the UNCRC is the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history. 196 countries have signed up to it, making it a truly global commitment to children. It covers everything from the right to education and healthcare to protection from violence and the right to have a say in decisions affecting their lives.
All countries that sign up to the UNCRC are bound by international law to ensure it is implemented. This is monitored by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.
CRC Resolutions in Illinois from 2010-2024
State Resolution 2010 - A bi-partisan resolution HR 1143 (Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie - Elizabeth Coulson - Naomi D. Jakobsson - Mary E. Flowers - Annazette Collins and Sara Feigenholtz) passed the House in 2010 in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child - it called on all agencies in IL to "ensure that their policies and programs comply with the Convention on the Rights of the Child" and urged the US Senate to ratify the CRC.
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A Decade Later - in 2019 resolutions were all passed in honor of the 30 year anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child - they called for awareness, for comparing local, county and state policies with the aspirations of the CRC:
Chicago 2019– R2019-688 (Rodriguez, Michael D) Calls for all government agencies affiliated with juvenile justice to review and compare their policies to recommendations by Convention on Rights of Child and Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty Committee on Health and Human Relations.
Cook 2019 - RESOLUTION SUPPORTING A REVIEW OF COOK COUNTY POLICIES AND PRACTICES IN LIGHT OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD AND THE GLOBAL STUDY ON CHILDREN DEPRIVED OF LIBERTY https://cook-county.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4146669&GUID=3D300F58-DBBD-4DBF-8D6D-679A53FC0079&Options=Advanced&Search=&FullText=1
STATE of IL 2019 - HR0544 (Gabel) Calls upon all government agencies in the State of Illinois, counties, and municipalities, in particular those concerned with juvenile justice, to review their policies and practices in comparison to the recommendations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty.
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IL in 2024 - HJ46 (Rep. Carol Ammons, Theresa Mah and Sonya M. Harper )
Urges all agencies in the State of Illinois, in particular those concerned with the economic opportunity, education, health care, housing, justice, nutrition, protection, and recreation of children, to ensure their policies and programs comply with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Urges the President of the United States to submit the Convention on the Rights of the Child to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for review. Urges the Senate of the United States to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
