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Synopsis The adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is fundamental to the recognition and realization of children's rights, including the right to be free from harmful work. The ethical principles on which international human rights standards are based recognize that all children are the valuable members of the society and that protection of their dignity and realization of their survival and development needs are intrinsic to sustainable development. Children should be enabled to exercise their rights, and the opportunities available to them should be prolonged so that work becomes a choice, not a necessity. Work can have a major impact on children's right to survival and development. Work can have both positive and negative effects on the realization of a range of child rights, and this effect will differ significantly with the nature of work and with the ripeness, gender and other status of the child.