By LUCY ARMSTRONG, Dorchester Youth Council chair

ONE thing all children have in common is their rights, and this is mainly due to the UNCRC (United Nations Convention for the Rights of a Child).

With the 25th anniversary of this convention happening this month the Dorchester Area Schools Partnership (DASP) decided they would like to celebrate and say thank you for these rights.

On the last Friday of term all the DASP schools got together to celebrate the rights which give us the best quality of life.

All DASP schools attended Rights Fest at Thomas Hardye School and it was a huge success.

Every school came to the event and once all the schools were gathered together, we really started to celebrate our rights in style.

First of all, the children got to parade their decorated flags which were decorated beautifully and had some very powerful words on.

Then each school did a performance ranging from dances to speeches and poems.

On the day we had a representative from UNICEF who was amazed with what we had put together, and even informed us this was one of the biggest events organised in the country.

At the end of our celebrations we were told that we (the children) were the reason our rights were so strong. Without the appreciation and acceptance for rights they would have been abolished by now and the world would not have been the place we live in today.

Even though some countries do not accept children’s rights yet, our celebrations showed how passionate the children of Dorset were to help spread the happiness of our own lives to every child in the world.

  • For more of Lucy’s thoughts visit http://thegirlwhomaynothearyoursecrets.wordpress.com/

What is the UNRC?

IN 1989, governments worldwide promised all children the same rights by adopting the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNRC).


These rights describe what a child needs to survive, grow, participate and fulfil their potential. They apply equally to every child, regardless of who they are or where they come from.
The UK signed the UNCRC in 1990 and it came in to law in 1992.


All Unicef member states, except for the US, Somalia and South Sudan, have approved the UNCRC.
The UN Committee on the Rights of a Child is in charge of ensuring that the Convention is properly observed by the countries who have signed it.


The UNCRC has 45 articles relating to all children aged up to 18.
Amongst these are the following:

  • Governments must do all they can to fulfil the rights of children.
  • Children neglected, abused, exploited, tortured or who are victims of war must receive special help to help them recover their health, dignity and self respect.
  • Governments must provide extra money for the children of families in need.
  • Every child must be free to say what they think and to receive information of any kind as long as it is within the law.
  • Every child has the right to the best possible health.

Governments must provide good quality health care, clean water, nutritious food and a clean environment so that children can stay healthy.