Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child, 1924

The League of Nations adopted the Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child in September 1924. As the first multilateral statement on children’s rights it is a landmark document.

Since it is very brief, it is reproduced in full below.

“Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child

“By the present Declaration of the Rights of the Child, commonly known as ‘Declaration of Geneva,’ men and women of all nations, recognising that mankind owes to the child the best that it has to give, declare and accept it as their duty that, beyond and above all considerations 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 nursed; 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 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 fellow men.”



See also

Declaration of the Rights of the Child
Convention on the Rights of the Child
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child