This Tuesday, November 20th, is Universal Children’s Day!
The United Nations Universal Children’s Day was established in 1954 and is celebrated each year to promote awareness of children’s rights with aim to improve child welfare worldwide.
On this day in history, the Declaration of the Rights of the Child was adopted in 1959, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted in 1989.
This year, especially, when family separation in the United States was at the forefront of many people’s minds and hearts, and as the U.S. government is making attempts to roll back protections for children, it is more important than ever to advocate for children’s rights.
For more than forty years, LIRS has worked with our partners nationwide to provide child welfare services to refugee and migrant children who are unaccompanied or separated from family—from foster care to family reunification and advocacy.
Over the summer, LIRS provided immediate care and counseling to nearly 150 children who had been separated from their parents during the family separation crisis. And we were one of just two organizations called upon to aid the U.S. government in vital family reunification efforts.
Through these efforts, LIRS offered support to nearly 450 children and families, providing immediate reception and respite services, arranging transportation to communities equipped to meet their needs, and providing referrals to vital community services, including legal and mental health providers.
