The Role of UN in The Protection of Children's Rights

From the focus on education of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), to the efforts of the International Labour Organization (ILO) to abolish child labor, to the Children and Youth Program of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), to the nutritional work for mothers and young children provided by the World Food Program (WFP), to disease-eradication campaigns by the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN system is there for children. The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history. It has inspired governments to change laws and policies and make investments so that more children finally get the health care and nutrition they need to survive and develop, and there are stronger safeguards in place to protect children from violence and exploitation. Despite this progress, the CRC is still not fully implemented or widely known and understood. Millions of children continue to suffer violations of their rights when they are denied adequate health care, nutrition, education and protection from violence. Childhoods continue to be cut short when children are forced to leave school, do hazardous work, get married. fight in wars or are locked up in adult prisons. Further, the mandate of the UN in upholding children's rights is severely hampered by the fact that the sister organizations have failed to address the basic needs challenges of the children and most especially the special groups' children. Hence, the UNCRC should address the issue of the status of inhabitants of disappearing terr-itories (e.g. climate refugees) as international law does not provide currently provide clear answers. Secondly, UNCRC should assist the establishment of Ombudspersons for Future Generations at the national and international levels, who can actively advocate for long-term interests.