VOA标准英语2009-Children's Rights Still Violated 20 Years Af

Nations are staging special events to mark the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which came into force on November 20, 1989.

Lisa Schlein | Geneva 20 November 2009

 
Photo: AP
Palestinian girls release balloons with messages attached, during an event organized by UNICEF to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, 20 Nov 2009

"One of these problems is children's physical abuse. In schools, they hit children, in their houses. And, the other is the sexual abuse."

Nations are staging special events to mark the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which came into force on November 20, 1989.  It is the most widely ratified¹ international human rights treaty.  Every country in the world, with the exception of the United States and Somalia, has ratified it. In pre-Convention days, most of the world thought children should be seen and not heard.  Now, 20 years later, some children are making their voices heard.  But most remain silent and their human rights continue to be violated.

"I want to have my rights and I want to defend those who don't have a voice to say no," says 12 year old Tracy from Lebanon.  She is one of 23 children chosen from 16 countries to come to Geneva to participate in workshops, debates and other events to mark the 20th anniversary of the Convention.  Tracy is an active member of the Children's Council of World Vision in Lebanon and understands the problems children face in her country.

"One of these problems is children's physical abuse.  In schools," she says, "they hit children, in their houses.  And, the other is the sexual abuse."

Sixteen-year old Fredrica says children's rights in her country, Sierra Leone, are being violated.  Their situation is going from bad to worse every day.

"So many things are happening to us that is against the rights and when the Convention on the Rights of the Child puts laws, most of these laws have been violated every day," she says.  "So, many violence, cases of child trafficking…  Every day things are going bad, bad, bad and bad.  But, we just hope that things get better for all the children living in Sierra Leone and also in Africa."

Cara is 17 and part of Planned Canada's Youth Action Council.  It's an organization that works with children, families and communities to improve conditions in the developing world.  Cara says she feels a special responsibility to speak out on behalf of disadvantaged children because she comes from a country that has a stable government, and a good educational and health system.

"I feel that it is my responsibility because I have the resources to help other children around the world who don't have a voice and who don't have their rights respected to really speak up for them and try to help them in any way I can."

Cara notes many adults don't know children have rights.  She feels duty bound to inform them, as well as the children, of their rights.

"Because the children need to know how to protect themselves, how to stick up for themselves and fight for what is right.  And, the adults need to know," she says.  "It's just as important for them to know so that we gain their support.  Because us alone, we are limited to do so much, but us together, if we work together to fight for child rights, then we can really have success."

UNICEF Goodwill² Ambassadors, super-model, Claudia Schiffer, actor, Ewen McGregor and Hollywood actress, Mia Farrow have been advocating for the rights of children for years.  They are trying to make life better for them.  So is the UN High Commissioner³ for Human Rights, Navi Pillay. 

"With the adoption⁴ of the Convention by the General Assembly two-decades ago," she says, "the international community unanimously recognized for the first time in history that children, both girls and boys alike, are not simply the property of their parents or of their care givers, but individual rights-holders."

Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, Saad Houry, calls the Convention a milestone⁵, but notes the reality does not always live up to the document's vision of a world made safe for all children.  He says millions of children remain excluded from that dream.

"Despite remarkable⁶ economic growth in scores of countries over the past 20 years, shocking disparities are also growing, with the poorest children left further behind."

Much remains⁷ to be done to ensure children's rights are being respected.  Nevertheless, young people all over the world clutch onto their dreams and believe they can turn them into reality.

Despite the success of the Convention in raising awareness⁸ of children's rights worldwide, one of the largest and most influential⁹ countries in the world has not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  The United States has not approved the Convention because it fears government interference in family life and the possible loss of its sovereign rights.

Also, many of the countries that have ratified the Convention have not taken any measures to implement¹⁰ the laws.

Supression of children's rights and the abuse of children remain major worldwide problems.

 

1 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

2 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

3 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

4 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

5 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

6 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

9 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

10 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。