When Beyonce sings about how you should of put a ring on it (or when Kanye makes an idiot of himself over it), I really hope that they don’t mean diamond rings—particularly diamonds from places like Sierra Leone and other countries that use unconventional means of mining for the priceless gems.

Thousands of little kids—many whose parents think it’s perfectly okay in light of the financial support they bring home—are working in diamond and gold mines today. These kids—ages seven to 16—do not attend school and perform arduous tasks like digging sixty feed underground in gravel and deep mud for diamonds. In 95-degree weather and without air, there is always a high risk for injury and even death.

This, of course, isn’t the only form of child exploitation in the world right now. From being sold and trafficked into sexual and physical slavery to being forced to serve as soldiers to multitudes of other forms of violence and violations, kids all over the world have it pretty bad. As much progress as we believe we have made globally, there remains much more in need of attaining.

The thing is, if these kids are denied basic human rights—rights that adults have—on paper, who’s to enforce them in the flesh? The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child would make this possible. Before you enforce a law, a law has to be present; this convention protects kids by giving them status as real, breathing human beings—not property that can be sold, traded or used as abusers would see fit.

A comprehensive international agreement, it guarantees the right for kids to live lives free from violence. It also mandates that they are protected from all forms of exploitation, and that they are ensured the right to learn and be healthy.

Even though this convention has been signed by most countries—193 nations in all—the United States has yet to sign on to this integral measure. And they’ve been signed on for two decades! Why are we dragging our feet when so many young lives are at stake?

Without our pressure, the U.S. government isn’t about to put their feet down against these gross human rights violations. We must call upon our president and our Senators immediately to stand up for these children today. To ask President Obama to protect these children today or to find out more information, click here.