自聯合國於1989年通過「兒童權利公約」開始，維護並促進兒童人權即成為國際共識。我國雖礙於政治因素而無法成為簽約國或加入國，但在1993年修正兒童福利法時，即已將該公約若干條文的精神與內容落實於修正條文中，其後在民間團體與立法委員的致力推動下，外交部並於1995年正式向國際社會宣示我國遵守聯合國兒童權利公約的決心。近年來隨著臺灣各種特殊人權意識的覺醒，兒童人權－尤其是兒童發展權－之維護亦成為政府與民間共同關注的議題。2003年通過的兒童及少年福利法更以「公約」為法制藍本，將未滿十八歲之人的權益促進由一部法律統籌規範。 筆者由「兒童與成人平等享有人權」與「兒童發展權優先」的基本理念出發，主張兒童享有與成人完全相同的人權與人性尊嚴，而兒童人權的維護者應秉持維護兒童人權是成人的「責任」而非「慈善」的立場，促使其成長發展之各種兒童人權皆具有資源使用之優先性。本文由聯合國兒童權利公約的觀點，論述現代福利國家法制中「兒童人權」之主要內涵以及國家維護兒童人權之責任，並檢視該公約在我國法之落實情形。其次對於個人參與並觀察我國邁向「聯合國兒童權利公約」之路的歷程與進展，作簡要的經驗分享，期待藉此提醒兒童人權團體與相關權責機關，選擇適當之時機與方式再繼續向前推進。

　　　　　Since the making of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, protection and promotion of children's rights has become international consensus. Although the ROC has been barred from singing or accessing to the Convention for political reasons, the 1993 Children Welfare Law Amendment has realized the spirits and principles of children's rights, and subsequently in 1995 as a result of joint efforts made by civil groups and legislators, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was also pushed to announce Taiwan's determination to be bound by the Convention. In the recent years, the issue of children's rights,, especially the right to development, has become governmental as well as societal shared concern. The Child and Juvenile Welfare law 2003 further takes the Convention as the blueprint model for legislation and it governs the welfare of minors under 18 years of age as a whole under one piece of legislation. The writer stars from believes on two parallel principles: 'children share equal rights with adults' and 'children's right to develop comes first', urging that children enjoy the same human rights and human dignity with adults, and children's rights advocates shall withhold the standpoint that it is the adults' joint responsibility to give priority to resources allocated to the promotion of children's rights and development. This paper takes the view of the UN Convention to examine the contexts of children's rights and the responsibilities of the welfare state to protect them as well as to review the extent to which the ROC law has recognized the Convention. It also shares the writer's experiences in promoting the UN Convention in Taiwan, expecting that children's right groups and governmental authorities will carry on the work with proper timetables and corresponding measures.