In most of the world countries, children under 18 years old are not a minority but make up between 30 and 50% of the total population.

Children are entire human beings: they are not just sitting in the waiting room of humanity. They have the same dignity as any other human being, even if, due to their young age, they do not have the ability to express themselves, to discern and to stand up for themselves.

The Convention of the Rights of the Child (1989), ratified by almost all countries (except Somalia and the United States), is a tool to analyse situations and to set goals to be met, be it in terms of collective rights (right to education, to health and to protection in any of the child’s life circumstances) or in terms of individual rights (right to participation, to information, and so on).
These rights are not to be opposed to those of parents or society: on the contrary, they define the goals the family, the community and the society ought to secure every child in terms of benefits, protection against any form of exploitation, and participation to collective life.


The child is not the discretionary property of anyone.
The child is no sexual partner.
The child is no docile labour force.

The child should neither be idealised, nor victimised.

In taking into account the equality of chances, every society should empower its children so that they can be the main actors of their own development, by creating the right conditions, amongst their communities, for them to use their abilities to discern and to be ductile, according to their age and maturity.

Within the application of the rights of the child, Terre des Hommes’ approach doesn’t rely on mere humanitarian compassion but is clearly justice-oriented.
Justice in terms of respect of the child’s life, dignity and abilities.
Justice also in the interest of the community of which it ensures the durability and hope for progress.