The child needs love and understanding if his or her personality is to develop fully and harmoniously.  Wherever possible, he or she should grow up under the protection and responsibility of his or her parents, or at the very least in a caring environment providing moral and material security.  The child should only be separated from his or her mother at a very early age under exceptional circumstances.  Society and the public authorities shall be obliged to care particularly for those children who have no family or who lack appropriate means of subsistence.  (Articles 9, 10, 18, 20, 21, 27)

THE RIGHT TO PROTECTION

 The child must be protected from all forms of neglect, cruelty and exploitation.  The child shall not be the object of any form of trafficking.  The child shall benefit from special protection and shall enjoy all the opportunities and services provided by the law and other means to allow him or her to develop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually and socially in a healthy and normal way, and in conditions of freedom and dignity.  When laws are passed to ensure this, the overriding consideration shall be the interests of the child.  (Articles 3, 11, 16, 19, 22, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39)

THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION AND INFORMATION

 The child has the right to receive education, which shall, at least at primary level, be free and compulsory.   The child shall be given an education which will develop his or her general knowledge and which will allow him or her to benefit from the equal opportunities for all children to develop their talents and mental abilities, their sense of moral and social responsibility, and to become a useful member of society.  The best interests of the child shall be the guiding principle for those who are responsible for his or her education and development; this responsibility lies first and foremost with the parents.  Moreover, the child has the right to an education which respects the values of his or her own culture.  The child shall have access to information and material from different national and international sources, in particular information intended to promote the child’s social, spiritual and moral welfare and his or her physical and mental health.  (Articles 17, 28, 29, 30)

THE RIGHT TO FOOD 

The child has the right to regular, permanent and free access to sufficient and adequate food which corresponds to the cultural traditions of the population group to which the consumer belongs, and which guarantees a mental and physical life on an individual as well as a collective basis which is stress-free, satisfactory and dignified.  The child also has the right to access to clean drinking water.  (Article 24)

 The child has the right to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health and to access facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health.  The child has the right to grow and develop in good health; to this end, both the child and its mother shall be provided with special health care, including pre- and post-natal care.  The child shall have the right to benefit from adequate food, shelter, recreation  and medical services.  Children with different capacities and/or with physical and mental illnesses shall receive special care, and education which is appropriate to their condition.  (Articles 23, 24, 25, 26)     

THE RIGHT TO PLAY 

The child has the right to live a child’s life.  The child must have full enjoyment of games and recreational time, which should share the aim’s of the child’s education; society and the public authorities shall strive to promote the enjoyment of this right.  No child under an appropriate minimum age shall be permitted to work; no child shall be permitted to be engaged in an activity or occupation which may be detrimental to his or her health or education, or impede his or her physical, mental or moral development.  (Articles 31 and 32)

The child shall be protected against practices which may incite racial, religious or any other form of discrimination.  The child shall be educated in a spirit of understanding, tolerance, friendship among peoples, peace and universal brotherhood, and in full awareness of the fact that he or her must put his skills to the service of others.  Children must have everything they need to grow physically, spiritually and mentally in conditions of freedom and dignity.  The child has the right to express his or her opinion on all subjects which affect him or her, and these shall be duly taken into account, according to the age and maturity of the child.  (Articles 2, 12, 13, 14, 15)

THE RIGHT TO FAIR TREATMENT

Every child alleged as, accused of, or recognised as having infringed the penal law shall be treated in a manner consistent with the promotion of the child’s sense of dignity and worth, which reinforces the child’s respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of others and which takes into account the child’s age and the desirability of promoting the child’s reintegration and the child’s assuming a constructive role in society.  A variety of dispositions, such as care, guidance and supervision orders, counselling, probation, foster care, education and vocational training programmes and other alternatives to institutional care shall be available to ensure that children are dealt with in a manner appropriate to their well-being and proportionate both to their circumstances and the offence.  (Article 40)