Review of 2019: A symbolically powerful year for children’s rights

11 December 2019

2019 was a special year for children’s rights, marking the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the United Nations and the 25th anniversary of the International Bureau for Children’s Rights. As this year draws to a close, we are taking the opportunity to take stock of the progress we have made in the fight for the rights of the child.

The IBCR is proud of its commitment to this year’s new projects designed to ensure that the rights of all children are better respected. With a multi-year project launched in Honduras to combat human trafficking, in particular of women and girls, as well as two special projects to strengthen the child protection system in Afghanistan and Angola, the Bureau is working tirelessly to create more just and child-friendly national child protection systems.

   
These activities add to our ongoing efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burkina Faso, with tangible results observed in both countries as we approach the end of these projects.

 
2019 also saw the closure of our project in Costa Rica, in which we worked for four years with institutions to fight human trafficking in the country. Over the past 4 years, we have delivered more than 20 courses, trainings and workshops, organised 2 major events, including an international congress, and developed 4 training kits. In total, more than 1000 people were directly impacted by the project and an additional 8000 beneficiaries were impacted indirectly.

Finally, the IBCR also operated in Canada this year, creating the very first educational game on children’s rights, unveiled in June 2019. Created in partnership with students from two Montreal elementary schools, its goal is to raise awareness of the universal and fundamental rights of girls and boys in Canada and abroad in a playful and educational way.  Learn more about the video game >

 

This year was rich in events and celebrations, both for the IBCR and for children’s rights. Last spring, runners rallied to support the IBCR during the Scotiabank Charity Challenge (in Fr), a day of running which enabled us to raise funds to finance our projects. Numerous events were held around the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, notably a conference entitled “30 Years of the Rights of the Child: Progress and Challenges”. We also had the pleasure of participating in the forum on the rights of the child in Quebec.

 
The highlight of these celebrations was the fundraising event celebrating the 25th anniversary of our organisation on 21 November. More than 90 people gathered for this friendly moment of sharing around our values, and took part in an artistic auction that allowed us to raise funds to support our projects and to continue our work in defence of children’s rights worldwide. See more >