The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is an international human rights treaty drafted in 1989 in order to address the special need for care and protection of children. The Convention is the most rapidly and widely ratified human rights treaty and it comprehensively sets out the civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights of people under 18 years old.
In 1992, Thailand ratified the CRC thereby agreeing to respecting the provisions and principles contained therein. Indeed, the state parties to the Convention acknowledge some core principles, namely non-discrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child.
The Child Protection department of Help without Frontiers is in charge of ensuring that the staff of the organization as well as children, teachers, parents, and communities receive regular trainings on children’s rights in order to prevent and address violence, harassment, exploitation and other forms of child abuse. The work of Help without Frontiers follows a strict Child Protection Policy and code of conduct, whose principles guide the interaction with children.
In mid-June 2018, the staff from the Child Protection department of Help without Frontiers started conducting trainings in all 14 Ray of Hope schools in order to raise awareness on children’s rights.
The training starts with a brainstorming activity to let the children express their own ideas about children’s rights and about the role that children play in societies. The brainstorming is also meant to assess whether children are aware of the different forms of child abuse, hence violence, harassment, exploitation, and others. During the training, the knowledge on child protection and rights is transmitted to the students through participatory and child-friendly activities, including puppet shows and games.
Since June, 73 children of 12 years old took part to the Child Protection trainings conducted in Parami, Sauch Kha Hong Sar, and Irrawaddy Learning Centres, and learned about the right to survival, the right to be protected, the right to development and to participation. In the next weeks, children and youth in the other Learning Centres will have the chance to receive the training as well.
The work of Help without Frontiers focuses on creating future opportunities for all children, without borders. We believe that training children on their rights is of utmost importance inasmuch as awareness and knowledge build their capacity to play a crucial role in their communities and to bring about change.
