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The sun shines the same light everywhere. But today, in countries where children are happy, peaceful and prosperous, it seems to shine brighter and more generously.
June 1 is widely celebrated in many countries as Children's Day, a children's holiday. The first day of the hot summer season and the children's favorite holiday will be greeted with special joy not only by themselves, but also by adults. All the entertainment on this day, of course, is dedicated to the little "culprits" of the ceremony.
Children's Day is the oldest of the international holidays. Most people believe that this date was invented to make children happy. In part, there is life in this idea as well. But the idea of introducing International Child Protection Day came about because of a much more difficult situation.
After the Second World War, which brought great tragedies to humanity, the situation of children in particular reached a deplorable level. Millions of children were orphaned as a result of the war. Most of them were forced to live on the streets, begging and stealing to survive. Even so, in some famine-stricken countries, it was difficult to find people who could raise a child and help a foreign child. As a result, millions of children would wander the streets and die of starvation and disease.
No matter how dire the situation that engulfed the world, humanity could not remain indifferent to the fate of innocent children. In 1949, at a special session of the International Federation of Women's Democracies in Paris, it was decided to introduce the International Children's Day in order to protect the rights of children around the world. Since 1950, 51 countries around the world have begun to celebrate this day as a holiday.
Many are still wondering why June 1 was chosen to celebrate International Children's Day. The fact is that in 1925, the Chinese Consul General in San Francisco gathered all Chinese orphans in one place and organized a "Duan-u sze" holiday for them. It was June 1, the day that brought joy to hundreds of children. Therefore, in 1949, it was decided to celebrate the International Children's Day on this day.
One of the first to protect the rights of the child after World War II, the United Nations Children's Fund - UNICEF, founded in 1946, wholeheartedly supported the decision to introduce International Children's Day. In addition, the General Assembly adopted the 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child. From that day on, the Declaration was determined to take any action aimed at protecting the rights of children and giving them a happy childhood. It also declared that "humanity has to give children all the best it has."
In 1989, the UN General Assembly took another important step in this direction. Adopted the first international legal instrument on the rights of the child - the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Part 3, Article 54, this document protects the rights of children under 18 years of age. Most UN member states are parties to the Convention, and in 1995 this document was recognized as universal for all states.
Such international legal acts adopted after the war years have really helped to improve the lifestyles of millions of children around the world. In the past, large organizations have provided large amounts of financial assistance to hungry, sick children in vulnerable countries. The rights of the children were protected and any violence against them was combated.
But in spite of all efforts, it is unfortunate that injustices against children are still being committed in various parts of the world, sometimes secretly and sometimes openly. In particular, the use of child labor remains one of the most painful issues today.
According to the International Labor Organization and the Walk Free Foundation, 25 million people have been forced to work in the world in recent years, and one in four of them - 18 percent - are children. The use of child labor is particularly prevalent in agriculture, accounting for a total of 70,9 per cent. The remaining 17,1% is accounted for by services and 11,9% by manufacturing.
African countries are leaders in attracting children aged 5-17 to work. 72,1 million children are forced to work here for various reasons. There are 62 million such children in Asia and the Pacific, 10,7 million in the United States, 5,5 million in Europe and Central Asia, and 1,2 million in the Arab world. Unfortunately, one in three children who are forced to work does not have the same access to education as their peers. 38 percent are involved in hazardous work and work 43 hours a week.
In fact, teaching children to work is shaped at the level of tradition in every family. In doing so, parents teach their child to work by ordering them to do small chores at home. But it is a completely different matter if a child is forced to work on the street, earn money, or illegally use child labor by second parties because no one is a minor due to family circumstances.
Child labor has historically been shaped first by the peasant, the slave, and later by the assistant to his parents. Even in the nineteenth century, in developed European and American countries, it was common for children to work in harsh conditions - in factories and mines. Despite working 14-18 hours a day as adults, children are paid several times less than others. It is also rare that businesses have many internal rules prohibiting children. In particular, small workers are prohibited from looking out the window at work and playing during lunch breaks.
In Britain's working-class homes, poor people, whether adults or children, are forced to work as prisoners. They were not given a monthly salary or clothes. Children who were emaciated and exhausted were brutally beaten so that they could get up and continue their work when they rested for a while. The children worked 16 hours a day, sometimes even at night. On Sundays, he cleaned production machines. They were given the cheapest and lowest quality food. He slept in turns in the beds where his wife had left. Her legs were chained while she was working, even sleeping, so she wouldn’t run away. Hundreds of children who could not cope with working in such harsh conditions died unknowingly.
There were also people who struggled to stop such atrocities, sometimes out of indifference, sometimes out of fear. Many writers, notably the British historian Henry Jibbings, write in his book, A History of British Industry, that child labor was used under harsh conditions. The reformer Robert Owen was one of the first to draw attention to this problem in Britain, and in 1816 he spoke openly about it in Parliament.
In most countries today, child labor is seen as a form of illegal use of someone else’s labor. The use of child labor has been significantly reduced due to the concepts of child rights and occupational safety developed against this offense. But it cannot be said that it has been completely abolished. There are still different forms of child labor in the world. It is no secret that in some countries, especially in Africa, even children are armed and involved in hostilities.
Child labor often indicates poverty and low levels of development in the country. Because helpless children are forced to work to support themselves and their families. Sometimes, even in self-sufficient families, the child is involved in work in order to form the character and develop the ability to work. But in any case, parents need to understand that it is illegal to use a minor. Article 32 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child states: "Every child shall be protected from any activity which endangers his or her health or interferes with his or her education, or which is detrimental to his or her physical, mental, spiritual or social development."
It should be noted that the care of children, the protection of their rights has always been one of the most important issues for people. Today, June 1, International Children's Day, the world is looking for solutions to these problems, as well as to help children in need. Major international conferences and press conferences are held in different countries to discuss topical issues such as helping sick children and saving the lives of children in war-torn areas. As part of the holiday, charity events, concerts and campaigns will be organized, all proceeds of which will be used for the treatment of sick children in orphanages and hospitals. Volunteers visit orphanages and homes for the disabled and try to lift their spirits by handing out gifts to children in need of parental care.
It is no exaggeration to say that the most pleasant part of this holiday is to see the happiness and joy on the faces of children. To entertain them, more than 60 countries around the world organize various entertainment events, children's art exhibitions, sports competitions, prize competitions. All the streets, parks are filled with holiday performances, merry songs. On this day, children will be given colorful balloons and gifts. The TV screens will show interesting programs for young viewers, children's favorite movies and cartoons.
This date even has its own flag. In the center of the green ribbon is a picture of the earth and around it are 5 different shapes of people - red, blue, black, white and yellow, each of which has a symbolic meaning. In particular, if the image of the earth in the center represents our common home, the colored people indicate the unity and solidarity of different nationalities. After all, children, no matter what their language, nationality, color, or religion, are no strangers!
Prepared by Iroda TOSHMATOVA.