Children's Rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Disparities and inequities characterize the health and social well-being of children in the United States and the United Kingdom. Children's rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child are among the most powerful tools available to respond to and increase the relevance of pediatrics to contemporary disparities and determinants of child health outcomes. The articles of the convention establish the framework for a redefinition of what constitutes child health. The convention establishes a template for child advocacy, a matrix for establishing new approaches to health services, a curriculum for professional education, and a set of challenges for future child health outcomes and health systems research.