Basic information

About World Children’s Day

Every year on November 20^th, to mark the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF raises awareness of the most pressing issues facing children and invites children’s participation. As such, World Children’s Day highlights Article 12 of the Convention, which guarantees every child the right to be heard, to participate and to play a role in the civic life of their society.

About the Convention on the Rights of the Child

In 1989, world leaders united around a common cause and adopted the Convention, an international agreement on childhood, that helped transform children’s lives. 

Thirty years on, child rights have not changed, they have no expiry date. But childhood has changed. Urgent, concrete action is needed to protect and promote the rights of every child, now, and for future generations. 

About UNICEF

UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives. To defend their rights. To help them realize their potential. And we never give up. This implies a great responsibility and an enormous logistical effort. Our work is only possible thanks to a global network of partners and our teams around the world.

Key messages

• World Children’s Day is UNICEF’s global day of action for children, by children, marking the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on November 20. On this day, UNICEF advocates, raises awareness and raises funds for the most pressing issues facing children.
• From Auckland to Amman, New York to Nairobi, children are taking over and turning the world blue in support of child rights.
• Children should be listened to and taken seriously in decisions that affect them.
• COVID-19 has shown how inequality affects the rights of every child. Children and young people are raising their voices on the issues that matter to their generation – from climate to mental health, education, ending racism and discrimination – and are calling for adults to create a better future as we recover from the pandemic.
• Children have a different perspective to adults and produce new and creative solutions to the world’s big problems. As the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, this WCD it’s more important than ever that the world listens to their demands.

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