Drawing For Your Rights

Human rights have been out there for decades. However, do we really understand what they are?

These rights are a group of entitlements that we all have due to our condition as human beings. We do not need anyone to grant them to us, no matter where we come from. These rights are inherent to ALL of us, regardless of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Therefore, they are also equal to all human kind, and that means that discrimination cannot be used as a ground to take them away from you. These entitlements operate in a particular way. They are indivisible and interdependent. That means that they rely on each other, and if you affect one of them, you affect them all. One of the most important thing about these rights is that they are fundamental. That is why they turn into obligations for States to protect, fulfill and respect them!

Human rights are important as they appreciate the inherent dignity in human life. They protect values that are inherent to human life like liberty and human dignity. Human rights do not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, religion and occupation.

In talking to children and young people about human rights, it has become clear to me that rights knowledge is both empowering and safeguarding for children and young people. It strengthens their capacity, agency and capabilities, and engenders respect for the rights of others. We believe that everyone has the rights to learn about their rights, regardless of literacy level.

Respect My Rights
by the Los Trovadorcitos

Respect My Rights was a project created with Los Trovadorcitos, a group of Bolivian children who had not attended school for over 12 months, due to COVID. They had seen that we advocated for children’s rights and wanted to work with us to showcase that their rights were being violated by not being able to attend school and not having access to virtual education, they were being left behind. We worked with them to teach them about some of the articles from the Convention on the Rights if the Child and then they created a series of videos that showcased different articles from the convention and how they must be respected and not violated.

Now the videos are finished, we’re presenting them to the world with a guide on how to create your own videos to encourage children to learn about their rights and create video content to add to our virtual video gallery.

Convention on the Rights of the Child - English Version

Convención sobre los Derechos del Niño - Versión en Español