1919

In the aftermath of World War I, the League of Nations establishes the Child Welfare Committee to address Western nations’ growing concerns over the status of children throughout the world.

1924

Aged typewritten document titled “Declaration of Geneva.” — Text from the Geneva Declaration on the Rights of the Child. September 26, 1924. *United Nations Library & Archives Geneva.*

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Though the declaration makes no reference to education, it does state that children must have everything they need for “normal development” and that “a child must be put in a position to earn a livelihood.” This declaration was the first formal international acknowledgement of children’s rights.

1929

Children sitting at tables in a spacious room, looking toward the camera. — Dining hall in the Dom Sierot orphanage in Warsaw, Poland. *From the collections of the E. Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute. Date unknown.*

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Korczak was the director of the Dom Sierot Jewish orphanage in Warsaw, and he encouraged the children to form their own government and court system in the orphanage.

Korczak wrote that “there are no children, just people.”

1948

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights discusses the right to education. Article 26 states that “elementary education shall be compulsory” and that “education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality.”

1959

A black and white poster showing faces of children smiling and a few children holding hands and dancing around a globe. — Poster prepared by the United Nations Department of Public Information, 1947. *United Nations Photo Library*.

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The Declaration of the Rights of the Child addresses the right to an education, stating that elementary education should not only be compulsory but also free. It frames education as a way to develop skills, thinking and good citizenship, and the use of play and recreation as a way to achieve those goals.

1989

As the General Assembly adopts a Convention on the Rights of the Child, a group of children from the United Nations International School meet with Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar. New York, 1989. United Nations Photo Library.

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The 1989 convention expands on the 1959 declaration and, while it still states only that elementary schools should be compulsory, it adds that secondary and higher education and vocational information should be accessible to all. It also discusses the needs of children as individuals, and the challenges, such as illiteracy, that are faced in educating children throughout the world. The expanded convention emphasizes that children should not be subjected to work or exploitation or any other burden that would keep them from an education.

1991

The Canadian government ratifies the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. The ratification is a legally binding commitment to upholding children’s rights.

2015

As of this date, the governments of 196 countries have adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child, making it the most recognized human rights treaty in history.

Epilogue

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