Children’s views and ideas about their rights
Under the Children’s Convention, children, tamariki and rangatahi are entitled to know about their rights and to be part of making their rights real. They must be listened to and have the opportunity to influence decision-making about the things that affect them and that are important to them.
Kōrero mai, share what’s important to you
Children’s ideas and views matter. Being heard and taken seriously is a central part of children and tamariki experiencing their rights every day.
There is some information on this page about how children, tamariki and rangatahi can get involved in reporting on their rights..
Sharing the views and ideas of children, tamariki and rangatahi with the UN Children’s Committee
The UN Children’s Committee wants to hear from children, tamariki and rangatahi themselves about their experiences and rights in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Children, tamariki and rangatahi can share their views with the UN Committee about anything they think is important about their rights and wellbeing. They can be as creative as they want to when sharing their views, it is up to them!
Here are some of the sorts of things the UN Committee would like to hear from children, tamariki and rangatahi about:
What do you know about children’s rights?
What do you think could be done to help children and adults know more about children’s rights in Aotearoa?
In your opinion, what is good about being a child in Aotearoa New Zealand right now?
What do you think are some of the things that could be better for yourself, or for other children in Aotearoa?
Do you have any ideas about what would help to solve some of the issues you have identified/shared?
Is there anything else that you would like to tell the UN Committee about what life is like for children in Aotearoa New Zealand?
The Children’s Rights Alliance can help to share children, tamariki and rangatahi views with the UN Children’s Committee. Please:
Send us your information and we will send it to the UN for you
Or
We can help you to send your information to the UN yourself.
To find out more or to share children, tamariki and rangatahi views and ideas about their rights and what is important to them, please email participation@childrensrightsalliance.org.nz
Learning about children’s rights so children, tamariki and rangatahi can speak up.
Children, tamariki and rangatahi need to know about their rights to be part of making them real; to have their say about what would make a difference for them and to influence decision-making.
Posters and books
This flyer from Save the Children New Zealand is an excellent, child and tamariki friendly summary of children’s rights.
Each and Every Child is a beautiful picture book, illustrated by many of Aotearoa’s best children’s illustrators, that tells the story of children, tamariki and rangatahi rights.
This colourful poster sets out each right in the Convention.
Extra information and guidance
There is also some good information available internationally, to guide children, tamariki and rangatahi on defending and upholding their own rights.
Check out the Child Rights Connect resources for children page here.
Be as creative as you like!
The UN Committee encourages children and tamariki to be creative and to share their views in any way they want to. This could be through creating a video of Spoken Word, through art work, poetry a recorded drama or waiata/song – anything!
Children and tamariki can use any format:
· Film or video
· Photography
· Art work
· Written text - first person narrative, case studies, factual reports, poetry, survey findings……
Existing information about children’s and tamariki’s views and ideas
There is already a large amount of information available about what children, tamariki and rangatahi think about issues that matter to them.
At the Children’s Rights Alliance we have begun to develop a database of reports and other publications sharing children’s views on issues.
Download the data base here.
Please let us know about any additional reports or publications you think should be included in the database. Email us at info@childrensrightsalliance.org.nz
What happen’s next?
The UN Children’s Committee will think about children’s views and ideas and take them into account as part of making recommendations to the Government about how to improve children’s rights and wellbeing in Aotearoa.
Find out more
There is more information for children about reporting to the UN Committee here.
For more information and suggestions about engaging with children, check out the Children’s Commissioner’s website Listening to Kids