Human Rights & The Girl-Child

What are the Human Rights of the Girl-Child?

Human Rights are universal, and civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights belong to all human beings, including children and young people. Children and youth also enjoy certain human rights specifically linked to their status as minors and to their need for special care and protection. Girl-children are particularly vulnerable to certain human rights violations, and therefore require additional protections.

The human rights of children and the girl-child are explicitly set out in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history. They are also contained in other human rights documents including the Universal Declaration, the Covenants, CEDAW, and other widely adhered to international human rights treaties and Declarations.

The Human Rights at Issue

The human rights of children and the girl-child include the following indivisible, interdependent and interrelated human rights:

• The human right to freedom from discrimination based on gender, age, race, colour, language, religion, ethnicity, or any other status, or on the status of the child's parents.

• The human right to a standard of living adequate for a child's intellectual, physical, moral, and spiritual development.

• The human right to a healthy and safe environment.

• The human right to the highest possible standard of health and to equal access to health care.

• The human right to equal access to food and nutrition.

• The human right to life and to freedom from prenatal sex selection.

• The human right to freedom from cultural practices, customs and traditions harmful to the child, including female genital mutilation.

• The human right to education -- to free and compulsory elementary education, to equal access to readily available forms of secondary and higher education, and to freedom from all types of discrimination at all levels of education.

• The human right to information about health, sexuality and reproduction.

• The human right to protection from all physical or mental abuse.

• The human right to protection from economic and sexual exploitation, prostitution, and trafficking.

• The human right to freedom from forced or early marriage.

• The human right to equal rights to inheritance.

• The human right to express an opinion about plans or decisions affecting the child's life.

---

The People's Movement for Human Rights Education (PDHRE) / NY Office
Shulamith Koenig / Executive Director
tel: 212.749-3156; fax: 212.666-6325;
pdhre@igc.org