Declaration of the Rights of the Child

The Declaration of the Rights of the Child, drafted by Eglantyne Jebb and adopted by the International Save the Children Union, Geneva, 23 February 1923 and endorsed by the League of Nations General Assembly on 26 November 1924:

By the present Declaration of the Rights of the Child, called the Declaration of Geneva, men and women of all nations, recognising that mankind owes to the child the best it has to give, affirm their duty, beyond all consideration of race, nationality or creed:

1. The child must be given the means requisite for its normal development, both materially and spiritually.

2. The child that is hungry must be fed, the child that is sick must be helped, the child that is backward must be helped, the delinquent child must be reclaimed, and the orphan and the waif must be sheltered and succoured.

3. The child must be the first to receive relief in times of distress.

4. The child must be put in a position to earn a livelihood, and must be protected against every form of exploitation.

5. The child must be brought up in the consciousness that its talents must be devoted to the service of its fellow men.

The original document, in the archives of the city of Geneva, carries the signatures of various international delegates, including Eglantyne Jebb and Gustave Ador, a former President of the Swiss Confederation.

A slightly amended version was adopted by the United Nations in 1946, and on 20 November 1959 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a much expanded version as its own Declaration of the Rights of the Child.