SW 112—Children’s Rights Are Human Rights: Centering Children In the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Children and youth make up nearly a third of the total human population of the world. Their well-being is essential to a healthy and prosperous future for our planet. Children have human rights, just as adults do, including the right to equality, health, education, a clean environment, a safe place to live, protection from harm, and the right to speak out and participate in society. Child rights are established in human rights treaties such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. They are also central to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that lay out a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet and seek to realize the human rights of all (United Nations, 2022). In this course, students will be introduced to the scope of children’s rights and their links with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Students will examine how the SDGS and human rights balance and support each other to advance sustainable economic, social, and environmental development. Students will learn to apply a rights-based lens and gain an understanding of how the implementation of the SDGs and respect for children’s rights can safeguard children in a diverse range of circumstances and foster just and inclusive societies where children thrive.