INTRODUCTION

Abstract

This chapter opens The Routledge International Handbook of Young Children’s Rights, marking the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The chapter foregrounds the book’s aim: to review critically what has been achieved since its adoption to realise the rights of children younger than 8 years, the current state of their rights, and what remains to be done to secure their rights, by drawing on empirical research evidence and expertise from across the world. This chapter notes the emergence since 1989 of significant evidence establishing the importance of early childhood development for lifetime outcomes and how that evidence has informed unprecede..