The
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, often referred to as
CRC or
UNCRC, is an
international conventionInternational human rights instruments can be classified into two categories: declarations, adopted by bodies such as the United Nations General Assembly, which are not legally binding although they may be politically so; and conventions, which are legally binding instruments concluded under...
setting out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of
childA child is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
ren. Nations that ratify this international convention are bound to it by international law. Compliance is monitored by the United Nations
Committee on the Rights of the ChildThe Committee on the Rights of the Child is a body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child by governments that ratify the Convention...
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 AssemblyFor two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:*General Assembly members*General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
, which also hears a statement from the CRC Chair, and the Assembly adopts a Resolution on the Rights of the Child.
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 AssemblyFor two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:*General Assembly members*General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
adopted the Convention and opened it for signature on 20 November 1989 (the 30th anniversary of its
Declaration of the Rights of the ChildThe Declaration of the Rights of the Child is the name given to a series of related children's rights proclamations. The first was drafted by Eglantyne Jebb and adopted by the International Save the Children Union, Geneva, on 23 February 1923 and endorsed by the League of Nations General Assembly...
). It came into force on 2 September 1990, after it was ratified by the required number of nations. As of December 2008, 193 countries have ratified it, including every member of the United Nations except the United States and
SomaliaSomalia , officially the Republic of Somalia and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa...
.
Two optional protocols were adopted on 25 May 2000.
The firstThe United Nations General Assembly adopted the Optional protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Annex I of a resolution on 25 May 2000.The protocol came into force on 12 February 2002....
restricts the involvement of children in military conflicts, and the second prohibits the sale of children,
child prostitutionProstitution of children refers to children engaging in prostitution. The definition of a "child prostitute" can vary depending on who is using the term. Many countries outlaw prostitution of a child under the age of 18, even though many countries have set the age of consent for minors who engage...
and
child pornographyChild pornography refers to images or films depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child; as such, child pornography is a visual record of child sexual abuse...
. Both protocols have been ratified by more than 120 states.
The Convention generally defines a child as any human being 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 interestsBest interests or best interests of the child is the doctrine used by most courts to determine a wide range of issues relating to the well-being of children...
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 custodyChild custody and guardianship are legal terms which are sometimes used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child.Following ratification of the...
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 lifeRight to life is a phrase that describes the belief that a human being has an essential right to live, particularly that a human being has the right not to be killed by another human being...
, his or her own name and identity, to be raised by his or her
parentA parent is a mother or father; one who sires or gives birth to and/or nurtures and raises an offspring. The different roles of parents vary throughout the tree of life, and are especially complex in human culture.- Father :...
s within a family or cultural grouping and have a relationship with both parents, even if they are
separatedLegal separation is a legal process by which a married couple may formalise a de facto separation whilst remaining legally married...
.
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
exploitationThe term "exploitation" may carry two distinct meanings:# The act of using something for any purpose. In this case, exploit is a synonym for use.# The act of using something in an unjust or cruel manner...
, to have their
privacyPrivacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively...
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 punishmentCapital punishment or the death penalty, is the execution of a person by judicial process as a punishment for an offense. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences....
for children.
In its General Comment 8 (2000) the Committee on the Rights of the Child stated that there was an "obligation of all States parties to move quickly to prohibit and eliminate all corporal punishment and all other cruel or degrading forms of punishment of children". Article 19 of the Convention states that State Parties must "take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence", but makes no explicit reference to corporal punishment.
The
European Court of Human RightsThe European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is an international judicial body established under the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950 to monitor respect of human rights by states...
has made reference to the Convention when interpreting the
European Convention on Human RightsThe Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms , was adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe in 1950 to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe...
.
State parties and signatories
As of December 2008, 193 countries have ratified it, including every member of the United Nations except the United States and Somalia.
Australia
An article in the Australian
National ObserverThe National Observer is a quarterly current-affairs and politics magazine in Australia...
described the Committee on the Rights of the Child as "an unelected body, which claims to be responsible only to the children of the world (and which therefore ultimately is responsible to no-one)".
Canada
Canada has ratified the Convention but has not fully implemented the Convention in Canadian domestic laws. Youth criminal laws in Canada underwent major changes resulting in the
Youth Criminal Justice ActCanada's Youth Criminal Justice Act is a Canadian statute, which came into effect on April 1, 2003, covering the prosecution of youths for criminal offenses...
(YCJA) which went into effect on 1 April 2003. In 1989, the Canadian House of Commons voted unanimously to pass a non-binding resolution to end child poverty by the year 2000. Between 1989 and 2008, the child poverty rates rose to a peak of nearly 25% in 1996, before falling to virtually the same rate of 15.8% in 2008.
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 13 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. Under the auspices of the Unicef financed
UdishaUdisha is the name designated by the national Government of India for an initiative aimed at quality improvement in child training. It is intended to specify the criteria to establish the necessary outline for all child-care functionaries and caregivers and to develop methods to be used to ensure...
initiative the
Government of IndiaThe Government of India, also known as the Union Government or the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of a union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
is specifying the outline of a means of change and improvement in child care.
Iran
Although the Islamic Republic of Iran is a state party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, international human rights organisations and foreign governments routinely denounce executions of Iranian child offenders as a violation of the treaty.
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. 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.
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.
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'.
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' 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 juveniles 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.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom ratified the Convention on 16 December 1991, with several declarations and reservations, 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. 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. In September 2008 the UK government decided to give up its reservations and agree to the Convention in these respects.
However, the 2002 report's criticism of the legal defence of 'reasonable chastisement' of children by parents, which the Committee described as 'a serious violation of the dignity of the child', was rejected by the UK Government. The Minister for Children, Young People and Families commented that while fewer parents are using smacking as a form of discipline, the majority said they would not support a ban.
In evidence to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, the Committee was criticised by the Family Education Trust for "adopting radical interpretations of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in its pursuit of an agenda". The Joint Committee's report recommended that "the time has come for the Government to act upon the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child concerning the corporal punishment of children and the incompatibility of the defence of reasonable chastisement with its obligations under the Convention." The UK Government responded that "the use of physical punishment is a matter for individual parents to decide".
United States
The United States government played an active role in the drafting of the Convention and signed it on 16 February 1995, but has not ratified it. Opposition to the Convention is in part due to what are seen as potential conflicts with the Constitution and because of opposition by some political and religious conservatives. The
Heritage FoundationThe Heritage Foundation is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C.The foundation took a leading role in the conservative movement during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, whose policies drew significantly from Heritage's policy study Mandate for Leadership. Heritage has since continued to...
sees the conflict as an issue of national control over domestic policy. President
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office, as well as the first president born in Hawaii...
has described the failure to ratify the Convention as 'embarrassing' and has promised to review this.
The US has signed and ratified both of the optional protocols to the Convention.
Optional protocols
Two optional protocols were adopted by the UN General Assembly on 25 May 2000. The
Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed ConflictThe United Nations General Assembly adopted the Optional protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Annex I of a resolution on 25 May 2000.The protocol came into force on 12 February 2002....
requires governments to ensure that children under the age of eighteen are not recruited compulsorily into their armed forces, and calls on governments to do everything feasible to ensure that members of their armed forces who are under eighteen years of age do not take part in hostilities. This protocol entered into force on 12 July 2002; as of May 2009, 128 states are party to the protocol and another 28 states have signed but not yet ratified it.
The Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography requires states to prohibit the sale of children,
child prostitutionProstitution of children refers to children engaging in prostitution. The definition of a "child prostitute" can vary depending on who is using the term. Many countries outlaw prostitution of a child under the age of 18, even though many countries have set the age of consent for minors who engage...
and
child pornographyChild pornography refers to images or films depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child; as such, child pornography is a visual record of child sexual abuse...
. It entered into force on 18 January 2002; as of May 2009, 131 states are party to the protocol and another 31 states have signed but not yet ratified it.
See also
- Child labour
Child labour refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries...
and Worst forms of child labour
- UNICEF
- Declaration of the Rights of the Child
The Declaration of the Rights of the Child is the name given to a series of related children's rights proclamations. The first was drafted by Eglantyne Jebb and adopted by the International Save the Children Union, Geneva, on 23 February 1923 and endorsed by the League of Nations General Assembly...
- Child advocacy
Child advocacy refers to a range of individuals, professionals and advocacy organizations who promote the optimal development of children. An individual or organization engaging in advocacy typically seeks to protect children's rights which may be abridged or abused in a number of areas.- Rights...
- Child laundering
Child laundering is the stealing and selling of children to adopting parents under false pretenses. Often the adoption agency or adoption facilitator hides or falsifies the child's origin to make the child appear to be a legitimate orphan by manipulating birth certificates, intake records, or...
- Children's rights movement
The Children's Rights Movement is a historical and modern movement committed to the acknowledgment, expansion, and/or regression of the rights of children around the world...
- Residence and contact
Child custody and guardianship are legal terms which are sometimes used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child.Following ratification of the...
- Youth voice
Youth voice refers to the distinct ideas, opinions, attitudes, knowledge, and actions of young people as a collective body. The term youth voice often groups together a diversity of perspectives and experiences, regardless of backgrounds, identities, and cultural differences...
- Student voice
Student voice describes the distinct perspectives and actions of young people throughout schools focused on education.-Definition:Student voice is the individual and collective perspective and actions of young people within the context of learning and education...
- Evolving capacities
Evolving capacities is the concept in which education, child development and youth development programs led by adults takes into account the capacities of the child or youth to exercise rights on his or her own behalf...
- Intergenerational equity
Intergenerational equity, in the sociological and psychological context, is the concept or idea of fairness or justice in relationships between children, youth, adults and seniors, particularly in terms of treatment and interactions. It has been studied in environmental and sociological settings...
- Adultcentrism
Adultcentrism is the exaggerated egocentrism of adults. It is used to describe the conditions facing children and youth in schools, homes, and community settings; however, adultcentrism is not based on a notion of being good or bad.-Definition:...
- Doubtful legal case of 47,800 VND
Doubtful legal case of 47,800 VND is the term used by Vietnamese media to call a child abuse case in Dong Thap Province where a 10 year-old female pupil was questioned by the local police and her teachers on suspicion of stealing 47,800 Vietnamese đồng from a student activity fund...
External links