World Children’s Day, celebrated every year on November 20, is a day dedicated to all the girls and boys of the world in commemoration of the date on which, back in 1959, the UN General Assembly approved the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, the non-binding text that served as the basis for which, ten years later, also on November 20, sign the Convention on the Rights of the Childan international human rights treaty that focuses on the rights and freedoms of children under 18 years of age.
Composed of 54 articles, this document includes the economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights of all children and involves states, teachers, researchers, health professionals, families and, of course, be otherwise, also to the children themselves.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child, which came into force in 1990, has as its basic principles non-discrimination based on skin color, religion, origin or parental ideals; the best interests of the child in the face of any decision, law or policy that may affect them; the right to life, survival and development of all minors, and child participation, in reference to the right of minors to be participants in what happens to them and surrounds them.
33 years after the approval of this Convention, both the UN and UNICEF consider it absolutely relevant to continue commemorating World Children’s Day every November 20. And, despite the fact that 196 nations have ratified its text, making it the most widely supported Human Rights treaty in history, these international organizations consider it key to continue highlighting its relevance and it is very necessary to remember the importance of working to achieve well-being. of all the boys and girls in the world.
10 songs that fight for children’s rights
For our part, from WECB we want to take advantage of this International Children’s Day to remember some songs in which artists from all countries and corners of the world have launched messages in defense of the rights and equality of all children.
1. Calle 13 and Mercedes Sosa, ‘Song for a child in the street’
In this song, Residente, vocalist of Calle 13, and the Argentine singer Mercedes Sosa, who died in 2009, raised their voices to put the spotlight on all those children who, due to different circumstances, are forced to live on the streets.
2. David Bisbal, ‘Paper Soldiers’
The great David Bisbal also has a song dedicated to children’s rights. In 2006, Almería published Soldiers of Paper, a song that denounces the situation of all those children who, throughout the world, are forced to participate in armed conflicts.
3. Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar, ‘Freedom’
In 2016, Beyoncé published with Kendrick Lamar Freedoma song framed on the album Lemonade which aims to fight for equal rights for all girls and boys in the world.
4. Tame Impala, Elephant
Tame Impala also has a song that fights for children’s rights, although in this case it does so by standing up to bullying. It’s called Elephant and it focuses on those who trample the rights of others for their own benefit.
5. Suzanne Vega, ‘Luka’
In this song, the American singer Suzanne Vega puts herself in the shoes of a child who is a victim of abuse and decides to confess what he is experiencing to his neighbor through a heartbreaking story.
6. Marcy Playground, St. Joe on the school bus
In a similar vein to that used by Tame Impala in their song, the New York post-grunge band Marcy Playground focuses on the cycles of violence in which many bullied children are immersed, who end up becoming bullying adolescents as a result of the lack of of education in values.
7. Alan Parsons, Children of the Moon
The British singer and producer Alan Parsons published the song in 1982 Children of the moon, a topic in which it puts at the center those children who are born homeless and with nothing to fight for, those who, armed conflicts or famines leave without any kind of hope.
8. Perl Jarm, Jeremy
In 1991, the American grunge group Pearl Jam released Jeremy, a song that remembered Jeremy Wade Delle, a teenager from Texas who some time before, when he was only 16 years old, committed suicide as a result of the serious bullying he suffered at school.
9. Ewlad Elbalab, Together for childhood
The Mauritanian group Ewlad Elbalad released Together for Childhood in 2016, a song that shouts the need to protect all childhoods.
10. Shakira, Acrostic
If there is a song that has recently highlighted the love that a mother professes for her children, that is Acrostic. In this song Shakira highlights the need for children to grow up in a happy environment full of love, something that is essential for any minor.
