Convention on the Rights of the Child

Convention on the Rights of the Child
Signed - location	20 November 1989[1] New York[1]
Effective - condition	2 September 1990[1] 20 ratifications[2]
Signatories	140[1]
Parties	193[1]
Depositary	UN Secretary-General[3]
Languages	Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish[1]
	Wikisource original text: UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, often referred to as CRC or UNCRC, is an international convention setting out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children. Nations that ratify this international convention are bound by it by international law. Compliance is monitored by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child which is composed of members from countries around the world. Once a year, the Committee submits a report to the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, which also hears a statement from the CRC Chair, and the Assembly adopts a Resolution on the Rights of the Child.^[4]

Governments of countries that have ratified the Convention are required to report to, and appear before, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child periodically to be examined on their progress with regards to the advancement of the implementation of the Convention and the status of child rights in their country. Their reports and the committee's written views and concerns are available on the committee's website.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention and opened it for signature on 20 November 1989 (the 30th anniversary of its Declaration of the Rights of the Child).^[5] It came into force on 2 September 1990, after it was ratified by the required number of nations. As of November 2008, 193 countries have ratified it,^[1] including every member of the United Nations except the United States and Somalia.^[4][6]

The Convention generally defines a child as any person under the age of 18, unless an earlier age of majority is recognized by a country's law.

Contents

The Convention deals with the child-specific needs and rights. It requires that states act in the best interests of the child. This approach is different from the common law approach found in many countries that had previously treated children and wives as possessions or chattels, ownership of which was often argued over in family disputes. In many jurisdictions, properly implementing the Convention requires an overhaul of child custody and guardianship laws, or, at the very least, a creative approach within the existing laws.

The Convention acknowledges that every child has certain basic rights, including the right to life, his or her own name and identity, to be raised by his or her parents within a family or cultural grouping and have a relationship with both parents, even if they are separated.

The Convention obliges states to allow parents to exercise their parental responsibilities. The Convention also acknowledges that children have the right to express their opinions and to have those opinions heard and acted upon when appropriate, to be protected from abuse or exploitation, to have their privacy protected and requires that their lives not be subject to excessive interference.

The Convention also obliges signatory states to provide separate legal representation for a child in any judicial dispute concerning their care and asks that the child's viewpoint be heard in such cases. The Convention forbids capital punishment for children.

The Convention also has two optional protocols, adopted by the General Assembly in May 2000 and applicable to those states that have signed and ratified them: The Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.

State parties and signatories

As of November 2008, 193 countries have ratified it,^[1] including every member of the United Nations except the United States and Somalia.^[4][6]

Canada

Canada has ratified the Convention but has not fully implemented the Convention in Canadian domestic laws. A nonprofit organization called the Canadian Children's Rights Council promotes awareness of the CRC in Canadian media, and provides resources on their website pertaining to the Convention.^[7] Youth criminal laws in Canada underwent major changes resulting in the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) which went into effect on 1 April 2003. ^[8] In 1989, the Canadian House of Commons voted unanimously to pass a non-binding resolution to end child poverty by the year 2000. However, the child poverty rate did not change between 1989 and 2000; 16% of Canadian children still live in poverty. ^[9]

India

In India, there is no outright ban on child labor, and the practice is generally permitted in most industries except those deemed “hazardous”. Although a law in October 2006 banned child labor in hotels, restaurants, and as domestic servants, there continues to be high demand for children as hired help in the home. Current estimates as to the number of child laborers in the country range from the government’s conservative estimate of 12 million children under 14 years of age to the much higher estimates of children’s rights activists, which hover around 60 million. Little is being done to address the problem since the economy is booming and the nuclear family is spreading, thereby increasing demand for child laborers.^[10]

Ireland

The Republic of Ireland signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 30 September 1990 and ratified it, without reservation, on 21 September 1992.^[11] In response to criticisms expressed in the 1998 review by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva, the Irish government established the office of Ombudsman for Children and drew up a national children's strategy. In 2006, following concerns expressed by the committee that the wording of the Irish Constitution does not allow the State to intervene in cases of abuse other than in very exceptional cases, the Irish government undertook to amend the constitution to make a more explicit commitment to children's rights.^[12]

New Zealand

New Zealand ratified the Convention 6 April 1993 with reservations concerning the right to distinguish between persons according to the nature of their authority to be in New Zealand, the need for legislative action on economic exploitation - which it argued was adequately protected by existing law, and the provisions for the separation of juvenile offenders from adult offenders.^[13]

In 1994, the Court of Appeal dismissed the suggestion that the Minister for Immigration and his department were at liberty to ignore the convention, arguing that this would imply that the country's adherence was 'at least partly window-dressing'.^[14]

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia ratified the Convention in 1996, with a reservation 'with respect to all such articles as are in conflict with the provisions of Islamic law'^[15] and considers it to be a valid source of domestic law. The Committee on the Rights of the Child, which reviewed Saudi Arabia’s treatment of children under the Convention in January 2005, strongly condemned the government for its practice of imposing the death penalty on juveniles, calling it "a serious violation of the fundamental rights". The committee said it was “deeply alarmed” over the discretionary power judges hold to treat children as adults: In its 2004 report the Saudi Arabia government had stated that it "never imposes capital punishment on persons... below the age of 18". However the government delegation later acknowledged that a judge could impose the death penalty whenever he decided that the convicted person had reached his or her majority, regardless of the person’s actual age at the time of the crime or at the time of the scheduled execution.^[16]

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom ratified the Convention on 16 December 1991, with several declarations and reservations,^[17] and made its first report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child in January 1995. Concerns raised by the Committee included the growth in child poverty and inequality, the extent of violence towards children, the use of custody for young offenders, the low age of criminal responsibility, and the lack of opportunities for children and young people to express views.^[18] The 2002 report of the Committee expressed similar concerns, including the welfare of children in custody, unequal treatment of asylum seekers, and the negative impact of poverty on children's rights. There was much attention in the media to the criticism of UK parent's rights to hit their children as 'a serious violation of the dignity of the child'.^[19]. In September 2008 the UK government decided to give up its reservations and agree to the Convention in full.^[20][21]

United States

Main article: US ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

The United States government played an active role in the drafting of the Convention and signed it on 16 February 1995. It has not so far been ratified. The United States historically has employed a cautious approach to ratification of treaties.^[22] Though generally supportive of the Convention, President Bill Clinton did not submit it to the Senate for its advice and consent. ^[23] The administration of President George W. Bush has explicitly stated its opposition to the treaty.^[24] President-elect Barack Obama has described the failure to ratify the Convention as 'embarrassing' and has promised to review this.^[25]

Opposition to ratification

Opposition to US ratifications is in part due to what are seen as potential conflicts with the constitution and because of opposition by some political and religious conservatives.^[26]

Active opposition to the Convention in the United States has been concentrated in politically conservative groups.^[27] Legal concerns over ratification have mostly focused on issues of sovereignty and federalism.^[28]

Most often Americans dismiss the CRC with the reasoning that the nation already has in place everything the treaty espouses, and that it would make no practical difference.^[29] The two reasons often given for the US Senate not ratifying the convention were that the State of Texas allows children to be given the death penalty, which the Convention would not allow, and that it would undermine parents' rights.^[30] The Heritage Foundation sees the conflict as an issue of national control over domestic policy.^[31] Some supporters of homeschooling have expressed concern that the Convention will subvert the authority of parents.^[32]

Support for ratification

The Campaign for U.S. Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child argues that criticisms mentioned by opponents of the convention "are the result of misconceptions, erroneous information, and a lack of understanding about how international human rights treaties are implemented in the United States",^[33] and that ratification "would establish a useful framework from which our leaders could create cost-effective and comprehensive policies and programs that address the specific needs of children and families."^[34]

Organisations which have supported ratification include World Vision,^[35] Church World Service^[36], the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States^[37], Church Women United^[38], and the National Council of Churches.^[39]

One lawyer, David Smolin, has argued that the objections could be met with appropriate reservations by the U.S. ^[40]

Optional Protocols

Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict

Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography

The Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography has 115 signatories. It requires states to protect the rights and interests of child victims of trafficking, child prostitution and child pornography, child labour and especially the worst forms of child labour.

See also

• Child labour and Worst forms of child labour
• UNICEF
• Declaration of the Rights of the Child
• Child advocacy
• Child laundering
• Children's rights movement
• Residence and contact
• Youth voice
• Student voice
• Evolving Capacities
• Intergenerational equity
• Adultcentrism

References

External links

• Text of the Convention
• UNICEF web site
• UN CRC in 60 plus languages
• Results of the convention - National Action Plans of the ratifiyng countries
• Canadian Children's Rights Council
• David M. Smolin, Overcoming Religious Objections to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Emory International Law Review. [9] [10] [11]
• Representing Children Worldwide How Children Are Heard in Child Protective Proceedings in 250 Jurisdictions
• 'Oppose the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child' HSLDA
• Article 23 Plus website The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the child living with disability