[Grammar] Should "children" be used here in stead of its singular form?

[cubezero3]

Hello, everyone.

I encountered this sentence just a moment ago.

However, the civil servants warned that the UK would be in contravention of article 28 of the UN convention on the rights of the child if ministers took that step.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/mar/27/ministers-immigration-crackdown-education-tourists

It seems to me to be very unlikely the UN concention is only concerned with one specific child. Is this a typo, or there is a good reason behind the using of the word's singular form?

Many thank

Richard

 

[5jj]

It's not uncommon to use a singular noun to represent the whole group.

The giant panda is still at risk as civilisation encroaches on its territory.
We are studying the pastoral role of the teacher in secondary schools.