Children's Day

Child ren's Day is a com memorative date

celebrated a n nua l ly in honor of
child ren, whose date of observa nce
va ries by cou ntry. I n 1925, I nternationa l
Child ren's Day was first proclaimed in
Geneva d u ring the World Conference on
Child Welfa re. Since 1950, it is
celebrated on J u ne 1 in ma ny
cou ntries.[1] World Child ren's Day is
celebrated on 20 Novem ber to
com memorate the Decla ration of the
Rig hts of the Child by the U N Genera l
Assem bly on 20 Novem ber 1959.[2] I n
some cou ntries, it is Child ren's Week
a nd not Child ren's Day. The Sikhs
celebrate Child ren Day on 20 Decem ber
to 27 Decem ber. I n the U.S., Child ren's
Day is celebrated on the second Su nday
of J u ne.

History

Origins

Child ren's Day bega n on the second

Su nday of J u ne in 1857 by Reverend Dr.
Cha rles Leona rd, pastor of the
Universa list Chu rch
World Child ren's
of the Redeemer in Day
Chelsea,
Massachusetts:
Leona rd held a
specia l service
dedicated to, a nd
1958 Soviet sta m p
for the child ren. com memorating
Leona rd na med the Child ren's Day
day Rose Day,
Officia l World
thoug h it was later na me Child ren's
na med Flower Day
Su nday, a nd then Also Universa l
na med Child ren's ca l led Child ren's
Day.[3][4][5] Day
Child ren's Day was Observed by I nterna
first officia l ly (U N)
decla red a nationa l Type Cu ltu ra l,
holiday by the com mercia l
Repu blic of Tu rkey Date 20
in 1920 with the set Novem ber
date of 23 April. (worldwide),
Child ren's Day has 1 J u ne

been celebrated (ma ny

cou ntries)
nationa l ly since
1920 with the Frequency An nua l

govern ment a nd Related to Siblings D

the newspa pers of ·

the time decla ring I nternatio

Men's Day
it a day for the
I nternatio
child ren. However,
it was decided that Women's
a n officia l Day ·
Father's D
confirmation was
· Mother's
needed to cla rify
Day,
a nd justify this
Pa rents' D
celebration a nd the
officia l decla ration
was made nationa l ly in 1929 by the
fou nder a nd the President of the
Repu blic of Tu rkey, M ustafa Kema l
Atatü rk.[6][7][8]

I nternationa l Child ren's Day

I nternationa l Child ren's Day was first

proclaimed in Geneva d u ring the World
Conference on Child Welfa re in 1925. On
4 Novem ber 1949, 1 J u ne was
esta blished as the I nternationa l Day for
Protection of Child ren by the Women's
I nternationa l Democratic Federation in
Moscow.[1] Since 1950, 1 J u ne is
celebrated as Child ren's Day in ma ny
Com mu nist a nd post-Com mu nist
cou ntries.

On 14 Decem ber 1954, a joint resol ution

by I ndia a nd Uruguay was passed in the
U N Genera l Assem bly to encou rage a l l
cou ntries to institute a Universa l
Child ren's Day, firstly to promote
mutua l excha nge a nd u ndersta nding
a mong child ren a nd second ly to initiate
action to promote the idea ls of the U N
Cha rter a nd the welfa re of the world's
child ren.[9] On 20 Novem ber 1959, The
United Nations adopted the Decla ration
of the Rig hts of the Child.[10] World
Child ren's Day is celebrated on 20
Novem ber to com memorate the
Decla ration of the Rig hts of the Child by
the U N Genera l Assem bly on 20
Novem ber 1959.[2]

Modern initiatives

I n 2000, the Mil len niu m Development

Goa ls outlined by world leaders to stop
the spread of H IV/AI DS by 2015. Al beit
this a pplies to a l l people, the prima ry
objective is concerning child ren.[10]
U N ICEF is dedicated to meeting the six
of eig ht goa ls that a pply to the needs
of child ren so that they a re a l l entitled
to fu nda menta l rig hts written in the
1989 internationa l hu ma n rig hts
treaty.[11] U N ICEF delivers vaccines,
works with policyma kers for good hea lth
ca re a nd ed ucation a nd works
excl usively to hel p child ren a nd protect
their rig hts.[11]

I n Septem ber 2012, the Secreta ry-

Genera l Ba n Ki-moon of the United
Nations led the initiative for the
ed ucation of child ren.[12] He firstly
wa nts every child to be a ble to attend
school, a goa l by 2015.[12] Second ly, to
im prove the skil l set acquired in these
schools.[12] Fina l ly, im plementing
policies rega rding ed ucation to promote
peace, respect, a nd environ menta l
concern.[12] Universa l Child ren's Day is
not just a day to celebrate child ren for
who they a re, but to bring awa reness
to child ren a rou nd the g lobe that have
experienced violence in forms of a buse,
exploitation, a nd discrimination.
Child ren a re used as la borers in some
cou ntries, im mersed in a rmed conflict,
living on the streets, suffering by
differences be it religion, minority
issues, or disa bilities.[13] Child ren
feeling the effects of wa r ca n be
displaced because of the a rmed conflict
a nd may suffer physica l a nd
psychologica l trau ma.[14] The fol lowing
violations a re described in the term
"child ren a nd a rmed conflict":
recruitment a nd child soldiers,
kil ling/maiming of child ren, a bd uction
of child ren, attacks on
schools/hospita ls a nd not a l lowing
hu ma nita ria n access to child ren.[14]
Cu rrently, there a re a bout 153 mil lion
child ren between the ages of 5 a nd 14
who a re forced into child la bor.[15] The
I nternationa l La bou r Orga nization in
1999 adopted the Prohibition a nd
Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child
La bou r incl uding slavery, child
prostitution, a nd child pornog ra phy.[15]

A su m ma ry of the rig hts u nder the

convention on the Rig hts of the Child
ca n be fou nd on the U N ICEF website.[16]

Ca nada co-chaired the World Su m mit

for child ren in 1990, a nd in 2002 the
United Nations reaffirmed the
com mitment to com plete the agenda of
the 1990 World Su m mit. This added to
the U N Secreta ry-Genera l's report We
the Child ren: End-of Decade review of
the fol low-u p to the World Su m mit for
Child ren.[17]

The United Nations child ren's agency

released a study[18] referencing the
popu lation increase of child ren wil l
ma ke u p 90 percent of the next bil lion
people.[19]

Dates around the world

The officia l ly recog nized date of
Child ren's Day va ries from cou ntry to
cou ntry.
 Child ren's Day in Donetsk, U kraine,
2011

Child ren's Day is celebrated on 1 J u ne in

former Soviet Union states (incl uding
Armenia, Azerbaija n, Bela rus, Estonia,
Georgia, Kaza khsta n, Kyrgyzsta n,
Latvia, Lithua nia, Moldova, Russia,
Tajikista n, Tu rkmenista n, U kraine,
Uzbekista n) as wel l as other former or
cu rrent com mu nist states (Al ba nia,
Angola, Benin, Bosnia a nd
Herzegovina, Bu lga ria, Ca m bodia,
Croatia, Cu ba, Czech Repu blic,
Slova kia, Ethiopia, East Germa ny,
Kosovo, Laos, Mongolia, Monteneg ro,
Moza m bique, Main la nd China, North
Macedonia, Pola nd, Portuga l,
Roma nia, Serbia, Slovenia, Ta nza nia,
Vietna m a nd Yemen, a nd to the lesser
extent in Israel d ue to the mig ration of
its Soviet Jewish popu lation). This
incl udes 25 cou ntries which regained
independence from USSR, seceded
from Yugoslavia Federation, as wel l as
Czechoslova kia a nd Ethiopia after their
respective splits.[20]

World Child ren's Day is celebrated on 20

Novem ber to com memorate the
Decla ration of the Rig hts of the Child by
the U N Genera l Assem bly on 20
Novem ber 1959.[2]

This section lists some sig nifica nt

exa m ples, in order of date of
observa nce.
 Gregoria n ca lenda r

Occu rrence Dates Cou ntry

First Friday of 7 Ja nua ry Ba ha mas[21]

Ja nua ry 2022
6 Ja nua ry
2023
5 Ja nua ry
2024

11 Ja nua ry Tu nisia[22]

Second 8 Ja nua ry Thaila nd[23]

Satu rday of 2022
Ja nua ry 14 Ja nua ry
2023
13 Ja nua ry
2024

Second 13 Februa ry Cook Isla nds

Su nday of 2022 Nau ru
Februa ry 12 Februa ry Niue
2023 Tokelau
11 Februa ry Cayma n Isla nds
2024

13 Februa ry Mya n ma r[24]

First Su nday of 6 Ma rch 2022 New Zea la nd

Ma rch 5 Ma rch 2023
3 Ma rch 2024

17 Ma rch Ba ng ladesh

21 Ma rch Libya[25]
22 Ma rch Leba non

4 April (4 April
Child ren's Day) Taiwa n Hong Kong

5 April Pa lestine

12 April Bolivia Haiti

Last Satu rday 30 April 2022 Colom bia

[26]
of April 29 April 2023
27 April 2024

23 April Tu rkey
(Nationa l
Sovereig nty
a nd Child ren's
Day)

30 April Mexico

5 May South Korea Ja pa n

Second 8 May 2022

Su nday of May 14 May 2023 Spain United Kingdom
12 May 2024

10 May Ma ldives

17 May Norway

27 May Nigeria