Significance
Children's Day is a commemorative
date celebrated annually in honor of children, whose date of observance varies
by country. In 1925, International Children's Day was first proclaimed in
Geneva during the World Conference on Child Welfare. Since 1950, it is
celebrated on 1 June in most Communist and post-Communist countries. World
Children's Day is celebrated on 20 November to commemorate the Declaration of
the Rights of the Child by the UN General Assembly on 20 November 1959.
Recent Initiatives
In 2000, the Millennium
Development Goals was outlined by world leaders. Albeit this applies to all
people, the primary objective is concerning children. UNICEF is dedicated to
meeting the six of eight goals that apply to the needs of children so that they
are all entitled to fundamental rights written in the 1989 international human
rights treaty. UNICEF delivers vaccines, works with policymakers for good
health care and education and works exclusively to help children and protect
their rights.
Currently, there are about 153 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 who are forced into child labor. The International Labour Organization in 1999 adopted the Prohibition and Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour including slavery, child prostitution, and child pornography.