“ I believe we should claim certain rights for children and labour for their universal recognition” (Eglantyne Jebb, 1923) 1
Human rights derive from recognition of the inherent worth and dignity of all human beings. Broadly speaking, human rights fall into of two types. On the one hand there are civil political rights (so-called first generation” rights), which concentrate on the right not to be interfered with by the state or others. It includes, for example, the right to life, to privacy, to freedom of movement, to protection from arbitrary arrest, to a fair trial and the rights to hold religious and political beliefs. Economic, Social and Cultural rights are, the so-called second generation rights, which include the rights to welfare and well-being, including the protection of the family, an adequate standard of living, education, health care and reasonable working conditions.
The protection of juveniles is not included in either the 1924 or the 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the child. The first global treaty that gave credence to specific juvenile protection was the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Article 10(2)(b) prondes for the separation of accused juvenile from adults and for their speedy adjudication; article 14(4) prondes that the trial procedures for juveniles should take account of the age of juvenile and the desirability of provisions are narrow ,they are useful. As the number of states began to develop their own juvenile justice systems, so the need became apparent for an international framework which states could look to for guidanice in establishing and the operation of these juvenile justice systems.