In recent years we have seen many efforts in different countries of the world to consolidate human rights. Such initiatives were supported by the United Nations Convention on Children’s Rights. The Convention on Children’s Rights is the most widely accepted human rights agreement in the world. It describes children’s rights and how these rights should be respected. The Convention on Children’s Rights has been ratified by the Republic of Cyprus, an event which laid the foundations for changes in regulations and procedures relating to children's rights. Although this event took place almost twenty years ago, only recently the institution of the Commissioner for the Protection of Children’s Rights was institutionalized as a defense mechanism for the protection of these rights. Several articles in the Cypriot daily press (e.g. Kyriakidou, 2009; Hatzivasilis, 2009; Panayi, 2009) as well as recent research that took place in Cyprus (e.g. Angelides & Michaelidou, 2009; Angelides, 2004; Messiou, 2006) suggest that children's rights are violated. Additionally, many children are marginalized in schools due to their color, religion, socioeconomic status, disability, etc. One conclusion that emerges from the above publications and research, in relation to the Convention on Children’s Rights, is that schools in Cyprus and perhaps the Cypriot society in general, appear to have major deficiencies regarding information and awareness levels on children's rights. However, there is no large-scale, comprehensive research in Cyprus, which reveals the awareness levels, of both children and adults, on Children’s Rights, neither the potential problems that exist in the efforts to safeguard them. The aim of this study was to contribute towards this direction. The overall objective of this study was to record details of the following: a) The attitudes and awareness levels of the Cypriot society in relation to the contents of the UN Convention on Children’s Rights. b) The views of the Cypriot society in relevance to the degree of assurance of those rights by the state and, c) The actions that the Cypriot society considers should be promoted to improve the protection of children in Cyprus.

The data for this study has been collected from three separate populations from the Republic of Cyprus. These populations include a) elementary school students aged 9-13 years old, b) middle school and secondary school students, and c) adults aged 18 and higher. In total, the sample size of this study includes 1435 Cypriots. The data was collected through paper-and-pencil questionnaires that were administered to students, via telephone interviews to adults, as well as through interviews and focus groups for a subgroup of adults.

The results show the attitudes and awareness levels of the Cypriot society in relation to the contents of the UN Convention on Children’s Rights, the views of the Cypriot society in relevance to the degree of assurance of these rights by the state, and the actions that the Cypriot society considers should be promoted to improve the protection of children in Cyprus.