The KidsRights Index is the annual global index published by the KidsRights Foundation which ranks how countries adhere to and are equipped to improve children’s rights. The KidsRights Index is an initiative of the KidsRights Foundation, in cooperation with Erasmus University Rotterdam: Erasmus School of Economics and the International Institute of Social Studies. The KidsRights Index comprises a ranking of all states that are parties to the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and for which sufficient data is available. This is a total number of 165 countries. At present the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) is ratified by all of the world’s nations but one: the United States of America.
The first KidsRights Index was presented on 19 November 2013. In 2017, the fifth version of the KidsRights Index is published. Both the KidsRights Index itself and the underlying data are accessible on www.kidsrightsindex.org. There is still a considerable gap between international and national children’s rights policies and the local day-to-day realities of children and youth worldwide. The KidsRights Index provides crucial insights into what is being done and where countries need to do better to fully implement the CRC.
The KidsRights Index has been developed to stimulate attention for children’s rights at large, and more in particular public debate and opinion concerning the state of respect for children’s rights across the world. It is a tool for governments, civil society and other stakeholders that informs (potential) action to improve children’s rights.
The Index covers five domains with a total of 23 indicators. It consolidates the most crucial general children’s rights areas and implementation requirements of the CRC for which sufficient data is available. The five domains are:
- Right to Life
- Right to Health
- Right to Education
- Right to Protection
- Enabling Environment for Child Rights
The KidsRights Index provides an overview of country performance on each of the five domains and is a basis for making concrete recommendations to countries on how to improve. The KidsRights Index includes a total of 16 quantitative and 7 qualitative indicators which, when available, are systematically rated in the same way for all countries.
Pakistan stands 136th on global ranking on child rights. For more information, please download the KidsRights Index 2017-Pakistan
