Protecting children's rights

Action can change the world

Isn't it true that having enough food to eat, a home where we can sleep, and the opportunity to go to school are all things we take for granted? It is a child's right to receive an education and grow up healthy without suffering discrimination. However, there are many children in the world who don't enjoy a sound sleep and are unable to go to school due to the poor security environment where they live.

We had the chance to interview three participants of the 2010 World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates about the global conditions involving children's rights: Shirin Ebadi, a human rights activist from Iran; Salil Shetty, the secretary general of Amnesty International; and Johan Cels, the representative of the Japan Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Their thoughts as people who are actively at work in the field are full of concrete and persuasive examples. In their compelling words, we discovered many things that we can do to help support children's rights in the world.

We compiled our ideas into six suggestions, from the actions we can take in our daily lives to the goals we can realize for the future.

Shirin Ebadi (left) speaks about her activities that take her throughout the world. (Photo by Masataka Tanaka, 16)

What kind of human rights violations do children experience in Iran?

After the Revolution, a series of laws were passed that violated the rights of the child. Including the age designated for criminal liability, which was reduced to 9 years for girls and 15 years for boys. This means that if a 9 year old girl or a 15 year old boy commits a crime, he or she is treated the same way before the law as a 40 year old person would be if committing the same crime. For this reason, we have the largest number of capital punishments for juveniles. In fact, last year, according to figures, Iran was the highest ranking country in terms of the number of juvenile capital punishments in the world...

Salil Shetty (right) shakes hands with junior writers.

What issues is Amnesty working on now with regard to children's rights?

Amnesty International has a strong belief that the future of human rights depends on the young people.

Amnesty works on a range of issues. The question of child rights is very much built into those issues. It's a difficult example to start with, in Japan, but it's the example of the death penalty.. And your death penalty is something which Amnesty has been campaigning to stop for about 13 years, or more than that. We've actually had a lot of success campaigning to stop the death penalty...

Johan Cels (second from right) explains about conditions in refugee camps. (Photo by Yuumi Kimura, 14)

After the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, there were many orphans, and those orphans had to steal and lead terrible lives because they didn't have anyone to rely on. I think that that would be the same with refugee children. So my question is what kind of lives do refugee children lead?

Actually, I before coming here, I'm about half way reading the book of Mayor Hamai, the first mayor of Hiroshima after the bomb, and what really struck me, when he talks about the orphans, and what really struck me is that the story, what he explains about what he and other people of Hiroshima is very much like a refugee story...

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Six suggestions for children to live in peace

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1. Organize a children's summit

Children from many nations, including developing countries where there are serious violations of children's rights, gather to discuss the nature of children's rights and ways to protect them. By summing up the discussion and making suggestions to global organizations, such as the United Nations, we could help effect changes. (Seira Furukawa, 17)

2. Exchange letters with children in the world

Children write about the worries of their daily lives in letters. An organization is established to collect such letters and send them to other children. The children who receive the letters then write their impressions and opinions and send their replies. A language barrier may be involved, but the writers could ease their pain and feel less alone by sharing their worries with other children in the world. This activity could also provide an opportunity to consider children's rights issues in other countries. (Yuumi Kimura, 14)

3. Establish "human rights schools"

Changes should be made to education in conflict areas and nations at war. We would like to establish schools where children can learn about violations of human rights and war from the point of view of third parties. At such schools, children can be taught the foolishness of hurting others and that causing harm does not lead to anything positive. Children who learn these things would be able to give up their guns and live with hope for the future. (Saaya Teranishi, 14)

4. Set up a special website for human rights

Establish a website about human rights that children can readily understand. At this site, the experience of human rights is conveyed through illustrations and video. It would also be good to put a system in place where children with concerns can feel free to consult with experts by accessing the site. (Mei Yoshimoto, 14)

5. Raise human rights issues at school

Raise such issues as the plight of refugees in classes at school. Hold a presentation and provide information on the kinds of support being offered refugees and what young people can do to help. By increasing interest, we will increase knowledge. We can share our ideas with others. (Shotaro Takata, 16)

6. Educate refugee children in Japan

Invite refugee children to Japan and offer them the chance to receive an education in a safe environment. The buildings of schools that have been closed could be renovated and used for this purpose. At these schools, the children can learn such languages as Japanese and English, as well as the subjects of peace and democracy. These are things they need to become leaders when they return to their homelands in the future. At the same time, preparations should be made for their lives in Japan if they should choose to stay here. Costs would be covered by the Japanese government by allotting some of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) as an investment in peace. (Masataka Tanaka, 16)