The absolute media illiteracy displayed in the original post and the use of a tiny portion of a Wikipedia page and the descriptive text of a website in search browser…
here is the actual text: Convention on the Rights of the Child | OHCHR
here is the actual definition of "state party" and "signatory" on this map:
"The indicator refers to the expression by the State of its consent to be bound by a human rights treaty under international law. A “State party” to a treaty is a State that has expressed its consent, by an act of ratification, accession or succession, and where the treaty has entered into force (or a State about to become a party after formal reception by the United Nations Secretariat of the State’s decision to be a party). A “Signatory” to a treaty is a State that provided a preliminary endorsement of the instrument and its intent to examine the treaty domestically and consider ratifying it. “No action” means that a State did not express its consent."
let's take a look at some of the countries that have, by this definition, apparently had this treaty ratified...
the Islamic Republic of Iran
Factsheet · Women and Girls’ Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran - Impact Iran
"Child marriage continues to be permitted under Iranian law. The legal minimum age for marriage is 13 years old for girls and 15 years old for boys, though girls who have reached the age of legal majority, 9 “lunar years” (about 8 years old and 9 months), can be married with parental consent and court approval. As a result, 9 lunar year old married girls and older are also subject to the laws governing women and girls’ lives in marriage, including Civil Code Article 1108’s obligation to fulfill the sexual needs of their husbands. With the permission of the court, the legal guardian has the right to marry for, and on behalf of, a minor daughter – legally sanctioning forced marriage.
The state-owned Statistical Centre of Iran recorded that in 2020, 31,379 girls between the ages of 10 to 14 were married, and that 27,448 girls under 15 were married between 2021 and 2022. State-sponsored Iran’s Students News agency reported “over 20,000” child marriages with girls under the age of 15 between March and December 2022. Numbers, however, are likely to be higher as many child marriages go unregistered. "
and this isn't even getting into the treatment of women and lgbtq+ people. which, by the way:
Fact Sheet: Russia’s Kidnapping and Re-education of Ukraine’s Children | Yale School of Medicine
"Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine includes a systematic campaign of forcibly moving children from Ukraine into Russia, fracturing their connection to Ukrainian language and heritage through “re-education,” and even disconnecting children from their Ukrainian identities through adoption. Children documented by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) range in age from four months to 17 years, and many have families looking for them in Ukraine."
General Assembly demands return of Ukrainian children by Russia | UN News
Ukrainian children, abducted by Russia and then returned, are speaking out : NPR
What happens to a kid abducted by Russia? Survivors and detention camp maps reveal a system of indoctrination - Friends of Europe
Australia: Disproportionate Removal of Aboriginal Children | Human Rights Watch
"Western Australia’s child protection authorities are disproportionately removing children from Aboriginal families and placing them in out-of-home care, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Children continue to be removed from their homes nearly two decades after the Australian government issued an apology to First Nations peoples for forcibly removing their children."
"The 86-page report, “‘All I Know Is I Want Them Home’: Disproportionate Removal of Aboriginal Children from Families in Western Australia,” describes how authorities in the state of Western Australia have been quick to remove children from Aboriginal mothers fleeing domestic violence and from Aboriginal parents without adequate housing, rather than providing appropriate services to address domestic violence and homelessness. Western Australia has the highest rate of overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care of any state or territory in Australia, and Aboriginal children are more than 20 times more likely to be living in out-of-home care than non-Indigenous children."
IWF Warns of Surge in Child Sexual Abuse Imagery Hosted in EU
"New report shows 62% of all child sexual abuse webpages found by IWF in 2024 were traced to an EU country.
The Netherlands remains the most abused location in the world for hosting criminal content the IWF found this year, though its share of the global total has dipped since 2023.
Poland, current holders of the EU Council presidency, is fifth highest on the EU list of hosting figures with an 8,000% increase.
The IWF discovered child sexual abuse, or links to it, a record-breaking 291,273 times last year."
“Start with the Youngest Children”: China’s Use of Preschools to “Integrate” Tibetans | HRW
"By mandating Chinese not only for teaching but also for daily interaction, care, and play, the authorities have fundamentally reshaped young children’s linguistic environments at the very stage when mother tongue fluency is normally established. A minority child in China may now never experience any teaching in their mother-tongue throughout their entire childhoods and adolescence, apart from occasional classes in which their local language is the subject of study."
An ethnic elimination in China: the abhorrent fate of the Uyghur children - Humanium
"The widespread arbitrary deprivation of the Uyghurs has led to many families being forcibly separated and unaware of the whereabouts of their children (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2022). Furthermore, the Uyghur children are utmost at risk given that the Chinese government is trying to eradicate any trace of the Uyghur ethnic minority and its distinct identity, by directly targeting its younger generation (News 18, 2020).
After their parents were forcibly sent to VETCs or working facilities, many Uyghur children were sent to Chinese boarding schools in Xinjiang and some children were alternatively sent to state-run orphanages in Xinjiang (NPR, 2022; Georgetown Journal & International Affairs, 2021). They are being forcibly taught Mandarin at boarding schools and orphanages, and any child that would speak in Uyghur would be severely punished (NPR, 2022).
In addition, by 2019, it was found that around 880,500 children were forced to live in these boarding facilities (The Guardian, 2020). The Chinese government is purposely making these children ‘orphans’ by forcibly separating them from their parents, “thus allowing the state to assume a parental role” and therefore successfully breaking the family ties amongst the Uyghur minority (Melanson, 2022). Many parents nowadays cannot account for the whereabouts of their relatives and their children (Amnesty International, 2021). "
“Forced to Give Up on Their Dreams”: Sexual Violence against Girls in Guatemala | HRW
"According to the National Registry of Persons (RENAP), between 2018 and 2024, 14,696 girls ages 14 and under gave birth and became mothers, often against their will."
Children of Afghanistan - Humanium
"Today, only around 60% of Afghan children are sent to school and only 28% of the adult population is literate. In addition, the education system is lacking infrastructure. In Kabul the number of students in some classes rises up to 60.
"Afghanistan also holds the saddening record of being the country which has the highest number of terrorist attacks aimed at schools, at girls schools in particular."
"Under the Taliban regime, thousands of Afghans under the age of 18 were enrolled in terrorist groups, in one way or another. They were first “brain washed”, then given training on the handling of weapons, and finally sent to war. Certain children, barely 6 years of age, were even used as child suicide bombers."
"Between 2000 and 2009, almost 40% of young women, when interviewed, confided that they were given in marriage before the age of 18."
Revealed: chaining, beatings and torture inside Sudan's Islamic schools | Global development | The Guardian
World Report 2026: Sudan | Human Rights Watch
In Sudan, sick and starving children ‘wasting away’ | UN News
"As heavy fighting continues between former allies the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and their allies, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said that in parts of North Darfur more than half of all children are acutely malnourished."
"Nearly three years since war erupted between the once-allied Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), 13.6 million people have fled their homes, including 9.1 million displaced within the country."
"Dr Shible Sahbani, the UN World Health Organization (WHO)’s representative in Sudan, told reporters that while the displaced require “urgent” care, the health system has been “ravaged by attacks, loss and damage of equipment and supplies, a shortage of health workforce and operational funds”.
Since the start of the war in April 2023, WHO has verified 205 attacks on health care that have led to 1,924 deaths and 529 injuries, Dr Sahbani said."
All of these countries signed consent to the terms of this treaty.
let's specifically talk about child marriage:
Regions and countries - Girls Not Brides
So, to conclude, the assertion that the United States is the "only country without civil rights for children" is completely misleading and incorrect.
American public high schools are bad, I can attest to this, but in so many places, children do not have access to education.
The UN is hypocritical in so many ways and has SEVERAL countries committing absolute ATROCITIES at this very moment on their HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL.
I took the time to write this all out because it is extremely frustrating to see the lack of media literacy present on this website and on the internet in general, especially amongst young people (like me). You cannot have a full understanding of the way the world is from social media posts and Wikipedia.
one horrible thing impacting children in the USA right now is that kids are not being taught useful information like how to read and think critically and media literacy because of budget cuts to public education. It is so vital to be able to read and understand and cite sources especially if you are going to be speaking about serious topics like this.
