The Right to a Good Start in Life: A Child's Right to Holistic Early Child Development

Dominic Richardson (Learning for Well being Institute); Child Rights Connect Inclusive Social Protection Taskforce

This position paper underscores that Early Childhood Development (ECD) is a fundamental human right, essential for ensuring that all children have the opportunity to survive and to thrive – regardless of socioeconomic status, gender, or crisis situation. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), is one of the multiple international agreements that affirm that children have rights to survival, development, health, education, protection, and participation. States Parties are obliged to respect, protect, and fulfil these rights by investing in ECD policies and programmes, particularly in the case of marginalized and vulnerable populations. This obligation extends to children affected by emergencies, displacement, and disaster– those children who often experience the most severe violations of their early rights.

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