International Children’s Day (also known as Children’s Day) is celebrated on June 1 every year, with the purpose to commemorate all the children who were killed in the Lidice Massacre of June 10, 1942 and in the war around the world, so as to fight against the killing and poisoning of children and safeguard their rights.
In August 1925, the concept of International Children’s Day was first put forward at the International Conference on the Welfare of Children held in Geneva, Switzerland. At this conference, child-friendly representatives from 54 countries gathered in Geneva, Switzerland, for the International Conference on the Welfare of Children, which adopted the Geneva Declaration on Safeguarding Children. In the declaration, discussions have been carried out on the spiritual enjoyment of children, the relief of poor children, the avoidance of dangerous work for children, the access of children to livelihood opportunities, and how to save and raise children.
Although the conference has proposed the concept of “International Children’s Day”, it did not stipulate the specific date of Children’s Day. Therefore, since the conference, governments of various countries have successively set their own “Children’s Day”, but the date is different in varied countries.
In November 1949, the Women International Democratic Federation held a council meeting in Moscow, where representatives of China and other countries angrily exposed the crimes of imperialists and reactionaries in various countries who brutalized and poisoned children. The meeting decided to designate June 1 of each year as International Children’s Day. It is celebrated to guarantee the right to survival, health care, education and custody of children in all countries of the world, so as to improve the well-being of children, and to oppose child abuse and poisoning of children. Therefore, many countries around the world have designated June 1 as Children’s Day.
