Today flags fly for Universal Children’s Day, which is based on an international agreement that sets out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of every child.
In the agreement, called the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the governments acknowledge to meet children’s basic needs and aim to help them meet their full potential.
In its most basic form, the governments of 196 countries agree that every child has the basic fundamental rights for:
- Life, survival and development
- Protection from violence, abuse or neglect
- An education that enables children to fulfill their potential
- Be raised by, or have a relationship with their parents
- Express their opinions and be listened to
The UNCRC was adopted by the United Nations in November 1989 and came into force in 1990.
Finland joined the agreement, which is legally binding, the following year, but the day became established in the calendar in 2002.
