children and young people report to the UN on their rights - Nova

Equality <strong>and</strong> fairness• It's about getting equality between <strong>children</strong>.• I think it's about <strong>children</strong>'s rights <strong>and</strong> that <strong>the</strong>y can speak <strong>the</strong>ir mind. All <strong>children</strong>must be equally happy <strong>and</strong> be treated equally fairly. If <strong>the</strong>re's anything unfair,<strong>children</strong> can put <strong>the</strong>ir foot down.• Children should be seen <strong>and</strong> heard. They should be able <strong>to</strong> speak <strong>the</strong>ir mind.Children should have <strong>the</strong> same rights as adults.As is evident from <strong>the</strong> above statements, what was foremost in <strong>the</strong>ir mindswas equality <strong>and</strong> fairness between <strong>children</strong>. The final quote suggests thatsome also had equal rights between adults <strong>and</strong> <strong>children</strong> in mind.About <strong>children</strong> in o<strong>the</strong>r parts of <strong>the</strong> world• It’s about helping <strong>children</strong> who are having a <strong>to</strong>ugh time or are in a war.• Helping <strong>children</strong> who are suffering, are without food <strong>and</strong> somewhere <strong>to</strong> live <strong>and</strong>have no family.• I think <strong>the</strong> <strong>UN</strong> Convention on <strong>the</strong> Rights of <strong>the</strong> Child is about <strong>children</strong> in need ofhelp, food <strong>and</strong> clothing.• Making a better day for all <strong>children</strong> in <strong>the</strong> world. Giving an education <strong>to</strong> <strong>children</strong>who have no opportunities, quite simply making <strong>the</strong> world a better place for<strong>children</strong>.• I think it’s about making sure that <strong>children</strong> (<strong>young</strong> <strong>people</strong>) should also have asay in <strong>the</strong> big issues affecting several countries.In Trondheim several <strong>children</strong> with a minority language background gave fulleranswers <strong>to</strong> this question. They were personally acquainted with <strong>children</strong> ino<strong>the</strong>r countries who lacked <strong>the</strong> opportunities available <strong>to</strong> <strong>children</strong> in Norway.They tended not <strong>to</strong> view <strong>children</strong>’s rights as a matter of course. One pupilanswered: "I don’t think <strong>children</strong> in Norway realise how fortunate we really are."Some answers showed that <strong>children</strong> had widely differing perceptions ofwhat <strong>the</strong> Convention was about. While one asserted that "Children have <strong>the</strong>right <strong>to</strong> do as <strong>the</strong>y wish", o<strong>the</strong>r statements were completely <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> contrary:"Just because we have a good life doesn’t mean that we can dem<strong>and</strong> everythingwe want. We also have obligations." Although many <strong>children</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>young</strong><strong>people</strong> had little awareness of <strong>the</strong> Convention, o<strong>the</strong>rs expressed <strong>the</strong>mselves invery precise terms. One pupil wrote:The <strong>UN</strong> Convention on <strong>the</strong> Rights of <strong>the</strong> Child is <strong>the</strong> law for <strong>children</strong>, itapplies in all countries that have approved it. There are rules saying whichways <strong>children</strong> should be happy. There is an international law that ensuresthat all <strong>children</strong> have equal rights. It says that all <strong>children</strong> should thrive.– Children <strong>and</strong> <strong>young</strong> <strong>people</strong> <strong>report</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>UN</strong> on <strong>the</strong>ir rights – 15