" All children have the right to leisure, play and participation in cultural and artistic activities"

Children have no political power. They do not vote and their opinions carry little weight with governments. They are, therefore, totally dependent on their parents or guardians to act in their best interests and to protect their rights.

To support families in protecting children, it was decided that there was a need for a broader consensus of what is and is not acceptable in the treatment of the young. The Convention on the Rights of the Child was first proposed by the government of Poland during the International Year of the Child (1979).

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in November 1989 and became international law ten months later after 20 countries had ratified it.

The Convention is based on three principles:

1. That children need special safeguards beyond those provided to adults.

2. That the best environment for a child's survival and development is within the family.

3. That governments and the adult world in general should act in the best interests of children.

Scouting can play a role in helping young people learn about their rights and help these rights to be implemented.

 

 

Programme Ideas

1. In Your Own Time
As a Patrol visit the Cub Scout Pack or the Beaver Scout Colony and carry out a survey of the most popular games and leisure activities undertaken by Beaver Scouts and Cub Scouts. Arrange a suitable time for a visit with the Beaver Scout Leader and Cub Scout Leader.

What resources are needed to play these games and how much do they cost?

Children in Uganda have very few toys and games. Children play with bicycle wheels and toys made from scrap and metal and wire. Footballs can be very expensive but children improvise by making footballs from rolled up banana fibre.

2. Game
Introduce a game to the Cub Scout Pack or Beaver Scout Colony which requires little or no equipment.

3. A toy from Africa
Make a car which children in Uganda make and play with ( see toy PDF file (40k))

The state must protect children from carrying out work that threatens their health, education and development; set minimum ages for employment and regulate conditions of employment.

4. Employment
a) Find out the regulations for the employment of children in the United Kingdom particularly with relation to: minimum age, hours permitted, maximum length of time per day.
b) Carry out a survey in the Troop to find out how much work is undertaken by young people in the Troop and when this occurs. Remember to include school holidays.
c) Have a discussion on whether the law is fair to young people, parents and employers. How would the Scouts like to see it changed? What effect would these changes have on:

• the jobs requiring to be done?
• the employers?
• the young people involved?