Exactly ten years after the development of the first phase of the Convention in 1979, 1989 was declared "International Year of the Child". The UN General Assembly passed into effect the Children’s Rights Convention on September 2, 1990, after ratification in 20-plus countries of the world. The acceptance of the Convention came from a culmination of efforts to define of the rights of children. These efforts began at the very beginning of this century.

The Convention concerns all minors to the age of 18 unless the child’s country has a legal age lower than 18. The rights as proclaimed by the Convention belong to all children and without any discrimination. The Convention is made with allowances for cultural, religious, political and economic variants for all countries of the world. The Convention has universal application.

Some of the children’s rights, as a matter of fact, are the same most as the rights of all other people without dependence on age. For protection against physical violence and torture, the right to medical help, the freedom to express opinions and the right to religion.

Nevertheless, most of the rights are specific and concern extremely needy children. It deals as with such possibilities as children's activities and adoption. Other rights are considered with allowance made for the special necessities and vulnerability of children. For example, rights for the protection of children during armed conflicts and questions of the removal of parental rights.

The Convention is an international agreement for human rights. It signifies that when a State ratifies the Convention it thereby officially declares agreement to respect in full the rights contained it the Convention and incurs all accompanying obligations. Thus, the State is obliged to provide:

• Supplying the main necessities for children;
• Protection of children against torture and exploitation;
• Due care of children by parents with all means possible;
• Special care for the most vulnerable categories of children, including those which for whatever reason cannot live with their parents;
• Providing children appropriate opportunities to play an active role in society and to have their own choices in life.

Thus, the Convention provides more respect for children than in the past.