For the purposes of the present Convention, a child means 
 every human being below the age of 18 years unless, under 
 the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier. 

  
 Article 2 

 1. States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth 
 in the present Convention to each child within their 
 jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of 
 the child's or his or her parent's or legal guardian's race, 
 colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, 
 national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or 
 other status. 

 2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to 
 ensure that the child is protected against all forms of 
 discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, 
 activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child's 
 parents, legal guardians, or family members. 
 
  

 Article 3 

 1. In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by 
 public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, 
 administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best 
 interests of the child shall be a primary consideration. 

 2. States Parties undertake to ensure the child such 
 protection and care as is necessary for his or her well-being, 
 taking into account the rights and duties of his or her parents, 
 legal guardians, or other individuals legally responsible for 
 him or her, and, to this end, shall take all appropriate 
 legislative and administrative measures. 

 3. States Parties shall ensure that the institutions, services and 
 facilities responsible for the care or protection of children 
 shall conform with the standards established by competent 
 authorities, particularly in the areas of safety, health, in the 
 number and suitability of their staff, as well as competent 
 supervision. 

 Article 4 

 States Parties shall undertake all appropriate legislative, 
 administrative, and other measures for the implementation of 
 the rights recognized in the present Convention. With regard 
 to economic, social and cultural rights, States Parties shall 
 undertake such measures to the maximum extent of their 
 available resources and, where needed, within the 
 framework of international cooperation. 
  

 Article 5 

 States Parties shall respect the responsibilities, rights and 
 duties of parents or, where applicable, the members of the 
 extended family or community as provided for by local 
 custom, legal guardians or other persons legally responsible 
 for the child, to provide, in a manner consistent with the 
 evolving capacities of the child, appropriate direction and 
 guidance in the exercise by the child of the rights recognized 
 in the present Convention. 
  

 Article 6 

 1. States Parties recognize that every child has the inherent 
 right to life. 

 2. States Parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible 
 the survival and development of the child. 

 Article 7 

 1. The child shall be registered immediately after birth and 
 shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a 
 nationality and, as far as possible, the right to know and be 
 cared for by his or her parents. 

 2. States Parties shall ensure the implementation of these 
 rights in accordance with their national law and their 
 obligations under the relevant international instruments in this 
 field, in particular where the child would otherwise be 
 stateless. 

 Article 8 

 1. States Parties undertake to respect the right of the child to 
 preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name and 
 family relations as recognized by law without unlawful 
 interference. 

 2. Where a child is illegally deprived of some or all of the 
 elements of his or her identity, States Parties shall provide 
 appropriate assistance and protection, with a view to 
 speedily re-establishing his or her identity. 
  

 Article 9 

 1. States Parties shall ensure that a child shall not be 
 separated from his or her parents against their will, except 
 when competent authorities subject to judicial review 
 determine, in accordance with applicable law and 
 procedures, that such separation is necessary for the best 
 interests of the child. Such determination may be necessary in 
 a particular case such as one involving abuse or neglect of 
 the child by the parents, or one where the parents are living 
 separately and a decision must be made as to the child's 
 place of residence. 

 2. In any proceedings pursuant to paragraph 1 of the present 
 article, all interested parties shall be given an opportunity to 
 participate in the proceedings and make their views known. 

 3. States Parties shall respect the right of the child who is 
 separated from one or both parents to maintain personal 
 relations and direct contact with both parents on a regular 
 basis, except if it is contrary to the child's best interests. 

 4. Where such separation results from any action initiated by 
 a State Party, such as the detention, imprisonment, exile, 
 deportation or death (including death arising from any cause 
 while the person is in the custody of the State) of one or both 
 parents or of the child, that State Party shall, upon request, 
 provide the parents, the child or, if appropriate, another 
 member of the family with the essential information 
 concerning the whereabouts of the absent member(s) of the 
 family unless the provision of the information would be 
 detrimental to the well-being of the child. States Parties shall 
 further ensure that the submission of such a request shall of 
 itself entail no adverse consequences for the person(s) 
 concerned. 
  

 Article 10 

 1. In accordance with the obligation of States Parties under 
 article 9, paragraph 1, applications by a child or his or her 
 parents to enter or leave a State Party for the purpose of 
 family reunification shall be dealt with by States Parties in a 
 positive, humane and expeditious manner. States Parties shall 
 further ensure that the submission of such a request shall 
 entail no adverse consequences for the applicants and for the 
 members of their family. 

 2. A child whose parents reside in different States shall have 
 the right to maintain on a regular basis, save in exceptional 
 circumstances personal relations and direct contacts with 
 both parents. Towards that end and in accordance with the 
 obligation of States Parties under article 9, paragraph 1, 
 States Parties shall respect the right of the child and his or 
 her parents to leave any country, including their own, and to 
 enter their own country. The right to leave any country shall 
 be subject only to such restrictions as are prescribed by law 
 and which are necessary to protect the national security, 
 public order (ordre public), public health or morals or the 
 rights and freedoms of others and are consistent with the 
 other rights recognized in the present Convention. 

 Article 11 

 1. States Parties shall take measures to combat the illicit 
 transfer and non-return of children abroad. 

 2. To this end, States Parties shall promote the conclusion of 
 bilateral or multilateral agreements or accession to existing 
 agreements. 
  

 Article 12 

 1. States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of 
 forming his or her own views the right to express those views 
 freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child 
 being given due weight in accordance with the age and 
 maturity of the child. 

 2. For this purpose, the child shall in particular be provided 
 the opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative 
 proceedings affecting the child, either directly, or through a 
 representative or an appropriate body, in a manner 
 consistent with the procedural rules of national law. 

 Article 13 

 1. The child shall have the right to freedom of expression; this 
 right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart 
 information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, 
 either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or 
 through any other media of the child's choice. 

 2. The exercise of this right may be subject to certain 
 restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by 
 law and are necessary: 

 (a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others; or 

 (b) For the protection of national security or of public order 
 (ordre public), or of public health or morals. 
  

 Article 14 

 1. States Parties shall respect the right of the child to 
 freedom of thought, conscience and religion. 

 2. States Parties shall respect the rights and duties of the 
 parents and, when applicable, legal guardians, to provide 
 direction to the child in the exercise of his or her right in a 
 manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child. 

 3. Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be 
 subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and 
 are necessary to protect public safety, order, health or 
 morals, or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others. 

 Article 15 

 1. States Parties recognize the rights of the child to freedom 
 of association and to freedom of peaceful assembly. 

 2. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of these 
 rights other than those imposed in conformity with the law 
 and which are necessary in a democratic society in the 
 interests of national security or public safety, public order 
 (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals or 
 the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. 

 1. No child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful 
 interference with his or her privacy, family, home or 
 correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his or her honour 
 and reputation. 

 2. The child has the right to the protection of the law against 
 such interference or attacks. 

 Article 17 

 States Parties recognize the important function performed by 
 the mass media and shall ensure that the child has access to 
 information and material from a diversity of national and 
 international sources, especially those aimed at the promotion 
 of his or her social, spiritual and moral well-being and 
 physical and mental health. To this end, States Parties shall: 

 (a) Encourage the mass media to disseminate information and 
 material of social and cultural benefit to the child and in 
 accordance with the spirit of article 29; 

 (b) Encourage international cooperation in the production, 
 exchange and dissemination of such information and material 
 from a diversity of cultural, national and international sources; 

 (c) Encourage the production and dissemination of children's 
 books; 

 (d) Encourage the mass media to have particular regard to 
 the linguistic needs of the child who belongs to a minority 
 group or who is indigenous; 

 (e) Encourage the development of appropriate guidelines for 
 the protection of the child from information and material 
 injurious to his or her well-being, bearing in mind the 
 provisions of articles 13 and 18. 

 Article 18 

 1. States Parties shall use their best efforts to ensure 
 recognition of the principle that both parents have common 
 responsibilities for the upbringing and development of the 
 child. Parents or, as the case may be, legal guardians, have 
 the primary responsibility for the upbringing and development 
 of the child. The best interests of the child will be their basic 
 concern. 

 2. For the purpose of guaranteeing and promoting the rights 
 set forth in the present Convention, States Parties shall 
 render appropriate assistance to parents and legal guardians 
 in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities and 
 shall ensure the development of institutions, facilities and 
 services for the care of children. 

 3. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to 
 ensure that children of working parents have the right to 
 benefit from child-care services and facilities for which they 
 are eligible. 

 Article 19 

 1. States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, 
 administrative, social and educational measures to protect the 
 child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or 
 abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or 
 exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of 
 parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the 
 care of the child. 

 2. Such protective measures should, as appropriate, include 
 effective procedures for the establishment of social 
 programmes to provide necessary support for the child and 
 for those who have the care of the child, as well as for other 
 forms of prevention and for identification, reporting, referral, 
 investigation, treatment and follow-up of instances of child 
 maltreatment described heretofore, and, as appropriate, for 
 judicial involvement. 
  

 Article 20 

 1. A child temporarily or permanently deprived of his or her 
 family environment, or in whose own best interests cannot be 
 allowed to remain in that environment, shall be entitled to 
 special protection and assistance provided by the State. 

 2. States Parties shall in accordance with their national laws 
 ensure alternative care for such a child. 

 3. Such care could include, inter alia, foster placement, 
 Kafala of Islamic law, adoption, or if necessary placement in 
 suitable institutions for the care of children. When considering 
 solutions, due regard shall be paid to the desirability of 
 continuity in a child's upbringing and to the child's ethnic, 
 religious, cultural and linguistic background. 
  

 Article 21 

 States Parties that recognize and/or permit the system of 
 adoption shall ensure that the best interests of the child shall 
 be the paramount consideration and they shall: 

 (a) Ensure that the adoption of a child is authorized only by 
 competent authorities who determine, in accordance with 
 applicable law and procedures and on the basis of all 
 pertinent and reliable information, that the adoption is 
 permissible in view of the child's status concerning parents, 
 relatives and legal guardians and that, if required, the persons 
 concerned have given their informed consent to the adoption 
 on the basis of such counselling as may be necessary; 

 (b) Recognize that inter-country adoption may be considered 
 as an alternative means of child's care, if the child cannot be 
 placed in a foster or an adoptive family or cannot in any 
 suitable manner be cared for in the child's country of origin; 

 (c) Ensure that the child concerned by intercountry adoption 
 enjoys safeguards and standards equivalent to those existing 
 in the case of national adoption; 

 (d) Take all appropriate measures to ensure that, in 
 intercountry adoption, the placement does not result in 
 improper financial gain for those involved in it; 

 (e) Promote, where appropriate, the objectives of the 
 present article by concluding bilateral or multilateral 
 arrangements or agreements, and endeavour, within this 
 framework, to ensure that the placement of the child in 
 another country is carried out by competent authorities or 
 organs. 
  

 Article 22 

 1. States Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure 
 that a child who is seeking refugee status or who is 
 considered a refugee in accordance with applicable 
 international or domestic law and procedures shall, whether 
 unaccompanied or accompanied by his or her parents or by 
 any other person, receive appropriate protection and 
 humanitarian assistance in the enjoyment of applicable rights 
 set forth in the present Convention and in other international 
 human rights or humanitarian instruments to which the said 
 States are Parties. 

 2. For this purpose, States Parties shall provide, as they 
 consider appropriate, cooperation in any efforts by the 
 United Nations and other competent intergovernmental 
 organizations or non-governmental organizations 
 co-operating with the United Nations to protect and assist 
 such a child and to trace the parents or other members of the 
 family of any refugee child in order to obtain information 
 necessary for reunification with his or her family. In cases 
 where no parents or other members of the family can be 
 found, the child shall be accorded the same protection as any 
 other child permanently or temporarily deprived of his or her 
 family environment for any reason, as set forth in the present 
 Convention. 
  

 Article 23 

 1. States Parties recognize that a mentally or physically 
 disabled child should enjoy a full and decent life, in 
 conditions which ensure dignity, promote self-reliance, and 
 facilitate the child's active participation in the community. 

 2. States Parties recognize the right of the disabled child to 
 special care and shall encourage and ensure the extension, 
 subject to available resources, to the eligible child and those 
 responsible for his or her care, of assistance for which 
 application is made and which is appropriate to the child's 
 condition and to the circumstances of the parents or others 
 caring for the child. 

 3. Recognizing the special needs of a disabled child, 
 assistance extended in accordance with paragraph 2 of the 
 present article shall be provided free of charge, whenever 
 possible, taking into account the financial resources of the 
 parents or others caring for the child, and shall be designed 
 to ensure that the disabled child has effective access to and 
 receives education, training, health care services, 
 rehabilitation services, preparation for employment and 
 recreation opportunities in a manner conducive to the child's 
 achieving the fullest possible social integration and individual 
 development, including his or her cultural and spiritual 
 development. 

 4. States Parties shall promote, in the spirit of international 
 cooperation, the exchange of appropriate information in the 
 field of preventive health care and of medical, psychological 
 and functional treatment of disabled children, including 
 dissemination of and access to information concerning 
 methods of rehabilitation, education and vocational services, 
 with the aim of enabling States Parties to improve their 
 capabilities and skills and to widen their experience in these 
 areas. In this regard, particular account shall be taken of the 
 needs of developing countries. 
  

 Article 24 

 1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to the 
 enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and to 
 facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of 
 health. States Parties shall strive to ensure that no child is 
 deprived of his or her right of access to such health care 
 services. 

 2. States Parties shall pursue full implementation of this right 
 and, in particular, shall take appropriate measures: (a) To 
 diminish infant and child mortality; 

 (b) To ensure the provision of necessary medical assistance 
 and health care to all children with emphasis on the 
 development of primary health care; 

 (c) To combat disease and malnutrition including within the 
 framework of primary health care, through inter alia the 
 application of readily available technology and through the 
 provision of adequate nutritious foods and clean drinking 
 water, taking into consideration the dangers and risks of 
 environmental pollution; 

 (d) To ensure appropriate pre-natal and post-natal health 
 care for mothers; 

 (e) To ensure that all segments of society, in particular 
 parents and children, are informed, have access to education 
 and are supported in the use of basic knowledge of child 
 health and nutrition, the advantages of breast-feeding, 
 hygiene and environmental sanitation and the prevention of 
 accidents; 

 (f) To develop preventive health care, guidance for parents 
 and family planning education and services. 

 3. States Parties shall take all effective and appropriate 
 measures with a view to abolishing traditional practises 
 prejudicial to the health of children. 

 4. States Parties undertake to promote and encourage 
 international cooperation with a view to achieving 
 progressively the full realization of the right recognized in the 
 present article. In this regard, particular account shall be 
 taken of the needs of developing countries. 
  

 Article 25 

 States Parties recognize the right of a child who has been 
 placed by the competent authorities for the purposes of care, 
 protection or treatment of his or her physical or mental 
 health, to a periodic review of the treatment provided to the 
 child and all other circumstances relevant to his or her 
 placement. 
  

 Article 26 

 1. States Parties shall recognize for every child the right to 
 benefit from social security, including social insurance, and 
 shall take the necessary measures to achieve the full 
 realization of this right in accordance with their national law. 

 2. The benefits should, where appropriate, be granted, taking 
 into account the resources and the circumstances of the child 
 and persons having responsibility for the maintenance of the 
 child, as well as any other consideration relevant to an 
 application for benefits made by or on behalf of the child. 
  

 Article 27 

 1. States Parties recognize the right of every child to a 
 standard of living adequate for the child's physical, mental, 
 spiritual, moral and social development. 

 2. The parent(s) or others responsible for the child have the 
 primary responsibility to secure, within their abilities and 
 financial capacities, the conditions of living necessary for the 
 child's development. 

 3. States Parties, in accordance with national conditions and 
 within their means, shall take appropriate measures to assist 
 parents and others responsible for the child to implement this 
 right and shall in case of need provide material assistance and 
 support programmes, particularly with regard to nutrition, 
 clothing and housing. 

 4. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to 
 secure the recovery of maintenance for the child from the 
 parents or other persons having financial responsibility for the 
 child, both within the State Party and from abroad. In 
 particular, where the person having financial responsibility for 
 the child lives in a State different from that of the child, States 
 Parties shall promote the accession to international 
 agreements or the conclusion of such agreements, as well as 
 the making of other appropriate arrangements. 
  

 Article 28 

 1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to education, 
 and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on 
 the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular: 

 (a) Make primary education compulsory and available free 
 to all; 

 (b) Encourage the development of different forms of 
 secondary education, including general and vocational 
 education, make them available and accessible to every 
 child, and take appropriate measures such as the introduction 
 of free education and offering financial assistance in case of 
 need; 

 (c) Make higher education accessible to all on the basis of 
 capacity by every appropriate means; 

 (d) Make educational and vocational information and 
 guidance available and accessible to all children; 

 (e) Take measures to encourage regular attendance at 
 schools and the reduction of drop-out rates. 

 2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to 
 ensure that school discipline is administered in a manner 
 consistent with the child's human dignity and in conformity 
 with the present Convention. 

 3. States Parties shall promote and encourage international 
 cooperation in matters relating to education, in particular with 
 a view to contributing to the elimination of ignorance and 
 illiteracy throughout the world and facilitating access to 
 scientific and technical knowledge and modern teaching 
 methods. In this regard, particular account shall be taken of 
 the needs of developing countries.2