1959: Adoption by UN of the Declaration of Rights of the Child

In 1959, the UN General Assembly adopted the  Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which defines children’s rights to protection, education, health care, shelter, and good nutrition. It was followed on the same day in 1989 by a Convention on the Rights of the Child. Unlike a Declaration, a Convention is legally binding on those states that have ratified the instrument. The Convention views children as human beings with a distinct set of rights instead of as passive objects of care and charity.

A simple version of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Simple Version) is available

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The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most rapidly and widely ratified international human rights treaty in history.