Children’s rights policies

Children’s rights to education are related to other basic rights, such as general welfare, health and safety, including protection from various forms of abuse. These are codified in one of the most ratified international conventions, the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN, 1989 – http://www.ohchr.org/ EN/ ProfessionalInterest/ Pages/ CRC.aspx [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] ). Since most countries have ratified the Convention, legislation and policies have been created to implement these standards. These instruments frequently recommend or impose requirements on teachers to respect children’s rights or monitor the welfare of children in their charge in such areas as domestic violence, sexual abuse, trafficking or child labour. A teacher policy needs to be aligned with such requirements, to ensure proper teacher recruitment, training, reporting and disciplinary measures for noncompliance. It should also ensure that teachers’ rights and responsibilities are aligned with children’s rights and protection. International organizations engaged in child welfare and protection have a number of resources to help guide policy on these questions (see, for example: EI, 2004; EI, 2014b; ILO, 2012: 20; Poisson, 2009).