Article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Life, Survival, and Development

Article 6 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantees every child’s inherent right to life. The right to life is not limited to mere survival; it also encompasses the child’s development through access to essential services, including health, education, nutrition, housing, safety, and emotional well-being. Protecting the right to life means creating the conditions that enable children to reach their full potential. Vaghri (2022) similarly emphasizes that the right to life extends beyond mere breathing; it encompasses the quality of life itself. A child’s right to life gains meaning when considered alongside the right to development. This development is a holistic process that includes not only physical but also emotional, social, cognitive, and moral growth. States, therefore, are responsible for both protecting children’s right to life and ensuring the conditions necessary for their full development.

Unfortunately, the global data paints a troubling picture. According to UNICEF’s 2024 Child Mortality Report, approximately 4.9 million children die each year before reaching the age of five, denied their right to life. Alarmingly, nearly all of these deaths are preventable, caused by malnutrition, lack of access to clean water, inadequate vaccination, poor prenatal care, and the absence of essential health services. Even more striking is that these losses are concentrated among children from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Poverty is a major threat to children’s right to life. UNICEF and WHO data show that a child born in Sub-Saharan Africa is 14 times more likely to die before age five than a child born in a high-income country. Socioeconomic inequalities persist even in wealthier nations, where children from low-income families face greater risks due to inadequate housing, limited resources, and restricted access to healthcare. This reality shows that Article 6 entails not only a legal but also a profound moral responsibility.

Child health is directly linked to social justice and equality of opportunity (Alshammari et al., 2025). Poverty, educational inequity, and infrastructural deficiencies are among the primary determinants of child mortality. Poverty creates a chain reaction, leading to malnutrition, poor living conditions, a lack of clean drinking water, and barriers to healthcare (Clark et al., 2020; Uchitel et al., 2019).

Children living in rural areas face up to twice the risk of death compared to their peers in urban centers. Moreover, migrant, refugee, and stateless children—those whom Bhabha (2009) calls “the rightless” are often excluded from education and healthcare systems, rendering them invisible. This invisibility weakens the foundational principles of recognition and protection on which the right to life is built. Therefore, safeguarding children’s right to life must be central not only to health policy but also to economic, social, and environmental policymaking.

Another group at risk includes children with neurodevelopmental differences (such as autism or learning disabilities). Without adequate understanding and support, these children are not only denied their right to development but also face heightened threats to their right to life. Hughes et al. (2020) reveal that children with neurodevelopmental conditions are often penalized within the justice system. Insufficiently trained judicial and security personnel, communication barriers, and inappropriate conditions pose serious risks to their physical and psychological well-being. Ensuring that justice-involved children receive assessments and interventions tailored to their developmental profiles is crucial for upholding their rights to life and development.

In A Future for the World’s Children?, Clark et al. (2020) identify climate change, pollution, commercial exploitation, and income inequality as key global threats to children’s right to life. These conditions restrict millions of children from accessing clean water, fresh air, and a healthy environment, undermining the very foundation of a safe and sustainable future. Thus, sustainable development, environmental justice, and climate policy must all be reconsidered through the lens of child rights.

Uchitel et al. (2019) argue that the right to life can only be fully realized when health, nutrition, early learning, safety, and emotional support are provided in an integrated way—a view aligned with UNICEF’s Nurturing Care Framework. Lucas et al. (2017) further demonstrate that maternal education is one of the most potent factors supporting children’s rights to life and development.

The protection of the right to life is a shared responsibility across all branches of government. As Doek (2009) notes, a nation’s resource allocation reflects how much value it places on children’s lives. Vaghri (2022) similarly underscores that states must commit their maximum available resources to ensure children’s survival and development. For this reason, children’s well-being must be placed at the heart of national budgets, policies, and development plans. Every child’s right to life represents a collective moral duty. The survival, growth, and flourishing of children determine the future of humanity itself.

In conclusion, Article 6 protects not only children’s survival but also their holistic development. Every child’s life holds value, and each one deserves the opportunity to realize their potential.

References

Alshammari, S. M., Linden, M. A., Kerr, H., & Noble, H. (2025). Healthcare professionals’ understanding of children’s rights: a systematic review of the empirical evidence-base. Systematic Reviews, 14(1), 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-025-02756-9

Bhabha, J. (2009). Arendt’s children: Do today’s migrant children have a right to have rights?. Human Rights Quarterly, 31(2), 410–451. https://doi.org/10.1353/hrq.0.0072

Clark, H., Coll-Seck, A. M., Banerjee, A., Peterson, S., Dalglish, S. L., Ameratunga, S., … & Costello, A. (2020). A future for the world’s children? A WHO–UNICEF–Lancet Commission. The Lancet, 395(10224), 605–658. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)32540-1

Doek, J. E. (2009). The CRC 20 years: An overview of some of the major achievements and remaining challenges. Child Abuse & Neglect, 33(11), 771–782. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2009.08.006

Hughes, N., Sheahan, F., Williams, W. H., & Chitsabesan, P. (2020). Ensuring the rights of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities within child justice systems. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 4(2), 163–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(19)30401-8

Lucas, J. E., Richter, L. M., & Daelmans, B. (2018). Care for Child Development: an intervention in support of responsive caregiving and early child development. Child: Care, Health and Development, 44(1), 41–49. https://doi.org/10.1111/cch.12544

Uchitel, J., Alden, E., Bhutta, Z. A., Goldhagen, J., Narayan, A. P., Raman, S., … & Mikati, M. A. (2019). The rights of children for optimal development and nurturing care. Pediatrics, 144(6), e20190487. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2019-0487

United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNIGME). (2025). Levels & Trends in Child Mortality: Report 2024. New York: UNICEF. https://data.unicef.org/resources/levels-and-trends-in-child-mortality-2024/

Vaghri, Z. (2022). Article 6: The Rights to Life, Survival, and Development. In Monitoring State Compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – An Analysis of Attributes (pp. 31–40). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84647-3_4

World Health Organization, UNICEF, & World Bank Group. (2018). Nurturing care for early childhood development: A framework for helping children survive and thrive to transform health and human potential. Geneva: World Health Organization. https://iris.who.int/server/api/core/bitstreams/781de51d-4cef-482e-bb3b-c2b3becf3c9f/content

Dr. Sezen ÇİÇEK APAYDIN

November 12, 2025