Iceland Ranks First in Children’s Rights

For the second year in a row, Iceland ranks first on the KidsRights Index as the country where children’s rights are best guaranteed.

The index, published annually, measures how children’s rights are respected worldwide and to what extent countries are committed to improving the rights of children. It ranks all UN member states that have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child where sufficient data is available – a total of 182 countries.

The index was developed by the international children’s rights organization KidsRights, in collaboration with the Erasmus School of Economics and the International Institute of Social Studies.

In 2018, Iceland ranked second on the index after Norway and fourth in 2017. This year, Iceland is followed by Switzerland and Finland. Chad, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone are at the bottom of this year’s index.

Countries receive scores in five areas: healthcare, life, education, protection and child rights environment. 

According to Marc Dullaert, founding chairman of KidsRights, children’s rights around the globe are seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Among the effects of lockdown around the world is a rise in domestic violence, which has proven especially devastating for girls, the report states.

Furthermore, the index shows that discrimination against children, especially girls, is a global problem.

For further information, see here.