Freedom of speech is an important right and children need to be made more aware it is all right for them to say what they are thinking, according to 13-year-old Kimberly Catania.

“I think this right is very important. Of course, this does not mean you can just say what you want. You must make sure that you don’t hurt others with your words,” she said, as her classmates, Julia Vella-Rosso and Maria Spiteri, nodded in agreement.

The three Form 3 students, who attend St Monica School, were among the students who participated in consultation meetings on the drafting of a book on children’s rights.

Students from St Michael’s, St Margaret College and the Gozo College also participated.

The book, My Rights, was launched yesterday by Children’s Commissioner Helen D’Amato at the girls’ school in Birkirkara.

It was a nice experience and we learnt a lot

It condenses the 54 articles listed in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into 37 colourful, informative pages.

The book will be distributed to Year 6 and Form 1 students in all schools and will be made available in school libraries.

In the book, children’s rights are made clear in a concise way and using simple terminology: something that children requested during the consultation.

Words such as ‘convention’ and ‘ratified’ were simplified into ‘set of rules’ and ‘agreed’ for the sake of the book that targets 10 to 12-year-olds.

During the consultation, students also spoke about the importance of featuring both Maltese and English in the booklet, “with Maltese coming first”, Ms D’Amato said.

Julia said one of the rights that surprised her most was the right to have food and shelter. She was aware there were poor children in the world, but did not realise that their rights were actually being breached.

The friends agreed that participation in the process was an enriching learning experience.

“It was a nice experience and we learnt a lot,” Maria said, adding that they often discussed rights with other classmates after consultation meetings.