The Rights of the Child

If you’re like me, you receive a half-dozen well-meaning pitches to sign petitions every day. And if you’re like me, you’ve become immune to them, deleting many without even opening them. Call it indignation fatigue, or compassion fatigue, or even outright fatigue. Maybe it’s just the pressure to get on with the meat of the inbox.

But every once in while one is outrageous enough that it cuts through the clutter.

As thousands of children around the world work as slaves and prostitutes, as thousands of children are being abused, neglected and exploited, as thousands of children are being used as soldiers, the entire world has taken a stand by signing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This is a document that would simply give children the same civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights as adults. It has the force of international law in the nations that sign it.

This convention was adopted by the UN General Assembly 20 years ago and during that time every nation on earth has signed it with the exception of two: Somalia and the United States. Twenty years? Really? We stand alone with Somalia?

This is shameful. Please take the time to click through to the International Rescue Committee’s petition urging President Obama and Congress to join the rest of the world in standing up for the rights of children. 

If you need more motivation, here’s the video you’ll find there:

And please pass it on. It may not feel like it sometimes, but these kinds of simple acts really do make a difference. The little button below is an easy way to share it.