There are constant loud calls for the need to make sure that Child Rights are integrated into the legislation of every country, and rightly so. Except for the USA, all countries in the world have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, meaning they have committed to upholding Child Rights, something that is only possible if these rights are embedded in national legislation. Therefore it is also right that every time a country takes the step to integrate Child Rights into their legislation – as Scotland did recently – this is applauded and highlighted. However, it turns out that countries claiming to uphold Child Rights and serving children’s best interests is not something that should be taken at face value. Because sometimes these claims are made to defend practices that are not in children’s best interests at all.
Continue reading “Abuse of the ‘Best Interests’ Argument”Tag: #CRC
Agreement on the Need to Get Rid of 'Orphanages'
18 December 2019 was a momentous day for anyone involved in ending institutional care. It was the day that all 193 member states of the UN General Assembly adopted a unique Resolution on the Rights of the Child. This is the first such resolution that addresses the subject of children without parental care, including those in alternative care. And it uses unusually strong language when discussing the risks that this group of children are exposed to.
Continue reading “Agreement on the Need to Get Rid of 'Orphanages'”Human Rights Day
Today it is 71 years ago that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in Paris. More than twice as old as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and containing only 30 articles, but when you read them, it is incredibly comprehensive. And yet, at such a venerable age, it is heartbreaking to realise how far we are – in any country at all – from actually truly honouring all the rights listed in that declaration.
Continue reading “Human Rights Day”30 Years Convention on the Rights of the Child
I remember seeing the announcement of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the news, shortly after my 12th birthday. I am not sure why I remember that, because at that time it did not have much of an impact on me. It was something abstract and far away. And it was wedged in between all of the big stories: Tiananmen Square had happened that summer, the Berlin wall had just come down, the Iron Curtain appeared to be vanishing and the Communist Block was breathing its final breaths. Plus, I had only just turned 12 and I lived in the Netherlands, a country where children did not have all that much to worry about or be afraid of. Yet, still, I remember.
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