TEHRAN – A book series by an Iranian writer teaching children their personal and social rights based on information from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) has been published in English.

Tahereh Shahmohammadi has created the educational series entitled “Children and Human Rights: Stories of Samin and Amin” based on ideas produced by Mohammad-Mehdi Seyyednasseri.

Illustrated by Sanaz Karimi-Tari, the series is composed of the two stories “Children and Human Rights: My Social Rights” and “Children and Human Rights: My Individual Rights”, which was first published by Zekr in June 2021.

In this collection, a boy named Amin with his little sister, Samin, ask their parents questions and the answers provide helpful information for the readers aged between five and eight.    

Children and other people of different social strata needed to learn about their social and personal rights in order to be treated in a way observing human rights, the publisher earlier said.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is an international human rights treaty, which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children.

The Convention defines a child as any human being under the age of eighteen, unless the age of majority is attained earlier under national legislation. 

The UN General Assembly adopted the convention and opened it for signature on November 20, 1989, the 30th anniversary of its Declaration of the Rights of the Child.

It came into force on September 2, 1990, after it was ratified by the required number of nations. As of June 26, 2021, 196 countries are party to it, including every member of the United Nations except the United States.

Iran has adhered to the convention since 1991 and ratified it in the parliament in 1994.

The convention deals with child-specific needs and rights. It requires that the “nations that ratify this convention are bound to it by international law.” Ratifying states must act in the best interests of the child.

Photo: Front cover of “My Social Rights”, the second book of the series “Children and Human Rights: Stories of Samin and Amin”.

Photo: Front covers of the books “Children and Human Rights: My Social Rights” and “Children and Human Rights: My Individual Rights”.

MMS/YAW