Penn for UNICEF strives to support the global efforts of UNICEF and the US Fund for UNICEF. We do this by educating the university community on issues affecting child survival, working with children locally via community service projects, and raising funds for UNICEF. We hold a variety of events throughout the year, to learn more about these, please visit our events page.
About UNICEF
UNICEF stands for the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund and its main goal is to support the rights of children everywhere. UNICEF was born out of a humanitarian response to the children of Europe's desperate need for assistance in a world emerging painfully from the horror of the Second World War. UNICEF was formally founded by the first UN General Assembly via Resolution 57 in 1946.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is the most important treaty for UNICEF. It is the most widely ratified treaty in the world with 192 out of 194 country signatories. UNCRC was adopted in November of 1989 and sets out the specific rights of children and their need for special care and assistance. It requires that nations act in the best interests of the child. The UNCRC was the first international instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights--civil, cultural, economic, political, and social. Article 45 of the Convention gives UNCEF the responsibility to rpomote and protect child rights by supporting the work of the Committee on the Rights of the child, to which countries report progress every 5 years. the Convention began a worldwide revolution that is changing attitudes and behavior towards children.
