According to the organisation, it was also the date when the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution welcoming the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children.

In 2019, the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly adopted the UN Resolution on the Rights of the Child, focusing for the first time ever on children without parental care.

"Child protection is critical, now more than ever during the lockdown as a result of the Covid pandemic. This pandemic has brought many challenges in terms of child protection and child rights violations," says the organisation. 

SOS Children's Villages in South Africa has urged authorities to recognise that the pandemic is deeply affecting the environment in which children grow and develop, from early childhood to adolescence.

World Children's Day, according to the organisation, offers an opportunity to advocate, promote and celebrate children's rights — translating into dialogues and actions that will build a better world for children.

In South Africa, the inclusion in the Bill of Rights of a special section on the rights of the child was an important development for the children. Children need special protection because they are among the most vulnerable members of society, concludes the organisation.

For more information, visit www.sossouthafrica.org.za. You can also follow the SOS Children's Villages South Africa on Facebook or on Twitter