Children’s and Youth Rights

Children, particularly those growing up in poverty or areas of violent conflict, face tremendous barriers to learning, growing, and shaping positive futures. They often have little recourse for pursuing justice for exploitation or abuse, as many countries have weak justice systems or are lax in enforcing existing child protection laws.

While there has been a welcome rise in the number of children enrolled in school worldwide, for many, barriers remain to accessing a quality education. Girls, children with disabilities, refugees, and children from minority ethnic or religious backgrounds face discrimination in education. And children who are subjected to inhumane work, conscripted as soldiers, or forced into child marriage may never have an opportunity to complete schooling.

The Fund supports local groups who stand up for the wellbeing and potential of all children and support youth-led activists to promote the rights and economic stability of their families and help children grow into healthy, productive members of society.

This work is of particular importance in Africa, where decades of political instability and poverty have resulted in the forced recruitment of child soldiers, sexual violence against girls, and trafficking of children across regions and borders. Here, families and groups working for children’s rights often are not viewed as part of the traditional human rights movement and face a lack of funding. The Fund has a dedicated program to advancing children’s rights and championing youth leadership in Africa. This initiative brings together local organizations to share lessons and scalable solutions, while also funding groups that support children in shaping and obtaining positive futures.