Article 24 was prompted by the realisation of how much the needs of children differ from those of adults. The purpose was to give the principles proclaimed in the 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child status as legal norms binding on Covenant parties. There was some hesitance, however, because the Covenant’s provisions were to apply to all human beings, including children, and to dedicate a special article to children might raise doubts about this. Article 24 ultimately embodied the right ‘to such measures of protection as are required by [every child’s] status as a minor’.3 These are to be secured on the part of the child’s family, society and the State.