Xinhua Writer Yang Qingchuan

    WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Promoting children's rights makes a better world and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is probably the best available tool to achieve that end, said a leading U.S. advocate for children's rights.

    "I think the better we treat our children through health care, education and protective environments, the better we are as both individual nations and the global society," Meg Gardinier, co-chair of the Campaign for U.S. Ratification of the CRC, told Xinhua on the eve of the Nov. 20 Universal Children's Day and the 20th anniversary of UN General Assembly's adoption of the CRC.

    "This is the most comprehensive treaty that addresses the full range of children's rights, civil, political, economic, social, and cultural," she said, referring to the convention.

    "It is the best framework that the world has to offer to improve the lives of children," Gardinier added.

    Before the CRC was adopted, she said, "we didn't have the tools or mechanisms to address them when something went wrong in the lives of children, whether they were trafficked, affected by HIV/AIDS, or in a situation of armed conflict."

    But the convention made a difference. Over the last 20 years, remarkable improvements have been made at country and local level for children, said the advocate.

    For example, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) recently conducted a study in 51 countries and found almost half of them have instituted substantial changes into their laws for children, ranging from protecting children from harm, banning female genital mutilation and caning, promoting children's health to bolstering education programs for girls.

    Cultural practices and social attitudes towards children have also been changed to create a better growth environment for children.

    Among the various aspects of children's rights, Gardinier said one provision in the CRC is a "real watershed that is the right for a child to be heard."

    "That's very important because for the first time in the history of global treaties, children have the right to be heard in matters that affect them," she added.

    Gardinier said there are two urgent issues that need to be addressed to protect children's rights.

    One is to make sure that governments have child-focused budgets and initiatives, she said, "Because without resources, there is very little that we can do."

    Secondly, she added, "in times of conflict and humanitarian disaster, we need to make sure that we look at all the needs of children, particularly the education rights as the fourth pillar of relief."

    Looking to the future, "there is a lot more to be done", said Gardinier.

    One of the critical challenges in the years ahead is an issue of sexual exploitation and trafficking of children "which has grown tremendously in the last 20 years because of globalization," she said.

    Even rich countries are also facing difficult issues related to children.

    The United States, for instance, is now facing an embarrassing situation that there are about 8 million teenagers who do not finish high school in the country, which means these young people can barely support themselves.

    "As a nation, we are still struggling to meet children's needs," said Gardinier.

    Another challenge the United States faces now is that the U.S. government has not ratified the CRC as most other UN members have done.

    The United States always takes a long time to ratify an international treaty such as the CRC because of political culture, tradition and misinformation about the United Nations, Gardinier said.

    "Chances for U.S. ratification have been improved under the Obama administration," she said, adding this is just "cautious optimism."

    Commenting on Xinhua News Agency and UNICEF's initiative to launch a global media campaign to mark the Universal Children's Day, Gardinier said: "You should be really commended" for the effort.

    Founded in 2000, Gardinier's organization is the only U.S. group with the single purpose to promote U.S. ratification of the CRC.

    The group works closely with other U.S. children's rights organizations and has operations across the country, according to Marty Scherr, another co-chair of the group.

Special report: Global News Day for Children