When your rights are violated

The Convention on the Rights of the Child has the same value as any other law and it must be obeyed. However, children’s rights are not always respected, and not everyone is familiar with them. If you notice that your rights or the rights of another child are not being respected, you can ask an adult for help. They must intervene and provide support.

There are authorities whose job is to ensure that children’s rights are respected. For example, the police are responsible for making sure that people obey laws and rules. There are also authorities who help people in need of support or whose rights are not respected.

If children’s rights are violated, legal remedies can help to ensure justice and protection. These are ways of asking authorities to check whether a matter has been handled correctly. If legal remedies in your country do not help, any child or group of children can also send a complaint to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

It is important that you know your rights and are able to tell others about them if necessary. You can learn about children’s rights on this website as well as at home or at school, for example. If you have questions about children’s rights, you can send them to us and our experts will reply as soon as possible.