Fundamental principles of the rights of children and adolescents

The rights of children and adolescents are a set of norms designed to protect and guarantee their well-being. The rights of children and adolescents have been established in various international treaties, the most prominent being the CRC, which refers to the "Convention on the Rights of the Child", approved on November 20 of 1989, by the General Assembly of the United Nations and ratified by the State of Chile in 1990. Although these rights support several fundamental principles such as non-discrimination, the right to life, survival and development, respect for identity and dignity, the right to participation, health, education, among others, we will address what are considered the four fundamental principles according to the CRC.

**1)**      **Principle of "Non-discrimination"**: This principle refers to the fact that all children and adolescents should receive equal treatment regardless of their race, ethnic origin, religion, gender, or other characteristics. This principle seeks to provide equal opportunities for all children and adolescents, so that they can acquire the same opportunities and eliminate any form of discrimination they may receive, whether is  physical or verbal.

**2)**      **Principle of "Always look after the best interests of the child"**: This principle determines that when making decisions involving or affecting children and adolescents, their  interests must be taken into consideration as the most important. This means taking into account the welfare of the child in various areas such as physical, emotional, mental, social and educational welfare, which implies that in addition to giving great relevance to the welfare of the child, also the options of making decisions would affect them, either directly or indirectly, must also be evaluated.

**3)**      **Principle of "Right to life, survival and development"**: This principle recognizes and values the right of children and adolescents to enjoy life and develop fully in all areas, including various essential areas for children such as education, access to health services, access to food and that these have conditions that favor and contribute to their adequate growth, in order to achieve a healthy and fulfilling childhood or adolescence.

**4)**      **Principle of "participation and being heard"**: This principle ensures the right of children and adolescents to express their opinions or positions, as well as to be taken into account in matters that affect them, taking into account their age and maturity. This principle is responsible for encouraging children and adolescents to have an active participation in the making of decisions that concern them, in addition to promoting their development in terms of their self-determination skills, their own thoughts and autonomous decisions regarding various social issues.

After describing the four fundamental principles, it is necessary to mention that the CRC makes the State and society in general guarantors of rights, which means that all adults must protect, safeguard and promote the rights of children and adolescents.In short, adults are involved to be defenders of children's rights, to defend them and ensure that they are fulfilled they can have a healthy growth and not fall into situations of vulnerability during childhood, which could be caused by the non-fulfillment of their rights.

**Bibliographic references**

*Conoce los Derechos de los Niños, Niñas y Adolescentes - Defensoría de la Niñez*. (2019, febrero 21). Defensoría de la Niñez. https://www.defensorianinez.cl/home-adulto/conoce-los-derechos-de-los-ninos-ninas-y-adolescentes/

*Convención sobre Derechos del Niño - versiones adaptadas por edad*. (2012, noviembre 26). Plataforma de Infancia. https://www.plataformadeinfancia.org/derechos-de-infancia/convencion-derechos-del-nino/

*Principios rectores de la Convención sobre los Derechos del Niño: una explicación fácil*. (s/f). Crin.org. Recuperado el 24 de noviembre de 2023. https://archive.crin.org/es/biblioteca/publicaciones/principios-rectores-de-la-convencion-sobre-los-derechos-del-nino-una.html