Convention on the Rights of the Child Case Study Click on the following links for further information about this case study: Teacher's Notes   Student Activities The right to be a child. It is an obvious right. Yet Iqbal, Dieudonne and thousands of other young people have never enjoyed that right. It is difficult to make sure everyone's rights are protected. Making sure all individuals, including children, know their rights, is the first step. Iqbal and Dieudonne are two children who would like to go to school and play, but unlike you and I they can only dream of play. Twelve year old Pakistani Iqbal Masih had been forced to work since the age of four. He was often chained to a weaving-loom and had to work from six o'clock in the morning to seven o'clock at night. He was paid only a few rupees a day. When he was released at age ten, his debt had not been cleared - in fact it had grown bigger because he had been fined for mistakes he had made. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dieudonne Luembwe who is sixteen has already fought in two wars and many battles, but he dreams of leaving the army so he can go to school. Dieudonne joined the army when he was just thirteen. He is suffering from malaria and thinks that the army is a hard life. "I'm only a little soldier and need to go back to school". In some countries around the world, children are not allowed to go to school or play games. Instead they are forced to work in factories or even be soldiers, in real armies, fighting in real wars. If children in these countries get sick, they cannot simply see the doctor like we can. In Australia, children have the right to education, health care and play-time and are protected from things like being forced to work long hours or fight in wars instead of going to school or playing. However, in some parts of the world, such as where Dieudonne and Iqbal come from, children are not given the same rights and protection. The United Nations and most governments around the world believe that all children, in all countries, have the right to go to school, to receive good health-care, and to have time to play. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is a United Nations' agreement that has been signed by all but two countries. Australia signed the CRC in December 1990. The CRC says that children of all countries, race, background and religion must be protected and given the same basic rights. It is very important because it tells governments what they must do to protect children and to give children everything they need in life, such as enough food and water, shelter, education, health care and time to play and relax. Although there is much work to be done, the CRC is there to make sure all countries give children the rights and protection they deserve. Hopefully, in the future no child will have to suffer the way that Dieudonne and Iqbal have.   Top © Commonwealth of Australia