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2004 Theme

In 2004, the theme was The Rights of the Child, and participants examined the lives of their counterparts around the globe. The Convention on the Rights of the Child was entered into force by the United Nations in 1990, ensuring a minimum degree of human rights to ALL children. Despite this, human rights abuses of children continue to occur. Participants in the 2004 Challenge analyzed these issues as related to particular articles in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (e.g., education access, legal outlets). Additionally, students examined more general topics such as who has the responsibility of defining and insuring children’s rights. Ultimately, Challenge participants became aware of rights guaranteed to them by the Convention, issues they might face if they lived in other countries, as well as the status and future of children’s human rights issues.

Presentation Ideas

Explore the links below for Presentation ideas and additional web links related to The Rights of the Child.

The Rights of the Child

(this list is not exhaustive)
General Topics Related to Children’s Rights

The Impact and future of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

  • Current programs and lessons learned from the Convention
  • Analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the Convention (i.e. what it may not cover but should)
  • The status of the Optional Protocols on the sale of children and the involvement of children in armed conflict
  • Evaluating the UN Millennium Development Goals for children
  • Implementing UNESCO's Education For All Program
  • UNICEF and child survival
  • Educational gender gap in developing countries

Determining funding to promote children’s rights

  • Society, State, and Global responsibilities
  • The ‘child annex’ to the national budget in Brazil and Norway
  • Amount of money needed to promote rights and prevent abuses
  • Advantages and disadvantages to different child protection programs

A look at who is responsible for insuring children’s rights (i.e. family, state, international organizations)

  • Children’s rights vs. the rights of the parent/family

The role of international organizations and the media in promoting children’s rights (i.e. UNICEF, Amnesty International)

Differences of children’s rights and needs depending on country

  • Access to the rights of food, water and shelter
  • Differences in concern for and support of children’s rights in different areas

The process and impact of recent legislation

  • The Malaysian Child Act
  • Rwanda’s National Assembly for Child Rights
  • The Sri Lanka Child Protection Act

Specific topic points related to the Convention on the Rights of the Child

Forced Labor

  • Coercion and conditions of exploitation in Thailand
  • Labor at home preventing access to public education in Sri Lanka
  • Child labor in Ecuador
  • Child slavery in Afghanistan
  • Child Prostitution in Eastern Europe
  • Using children for profit: Camel Jockeys from Pakistan and Bangladesh in United Arab Emirates

Child Soldiers

  • Psychological maltreatment, trauma, and neglect of child soldiers in Sierra Leone
  • Child abduction and forced military conscription in Burundi
  • Child soldiers and the reconstruction of Sri Lanka
  • Closing schools and health facilities: the making of child soldiers in Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Family break-ups and child soldiers in Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Drugs and child soldiers in Liberia

Caught in the Violence

  • Lack of access to medicine and healthcare for Burundi minority refugee camps
  • The impact of landmines after the fighting in Nicaragua
  • Palestinian and Israeli children killed as innocent bystanders
  • Children caught in the violence in Israel and Afghanistan
  • Impact of U.S. military present in Liberia on the situation of children

An Orphan’s Future

  • Regulation and conditions for the international adoption of children
  • Determining society, state, and global responsibility to orphans and refugees
  • Sleeping on the streets and panhandling to survive in Russia
  • The right to survival and the economic and social future of AIDS orphans in Kenya

Legal Options

  • Child right sensitization training in Mongolia
  • Juveniles in adult detention centers in Brazil
  • Lack of access to courts and family for ‘child combatants’ detained in Guantanamo Bay
  • Detained children in Australia

Health and Well-being

  • HIV/AIDS and children in Kenya
  • Street children in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua
University of Denver, World Affairs Challenge, 2201 South Gaylord St., Denver, CO 80208