Originally published on the CGS blog on November 19, 2014.
One of the most widely ratified human rights treaties is that which protects the world’s youngest citizens: the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The convention provides many international protections for children that are already covered under national legislation today. These protections range from life, name, and nationality to expression of opinion, freedom of thought, privacy, identity, and many additional rights that are often times a part of daily life, including education, health care, disability rights, and standards of living. The Human Rights Education Association provides a simplified version of the convention.
The seemingly simple choice to ensure that our children’s rights are protected has been made by all but three countries. The first, Somalia, may not come as surprise for many, nor should the world’s newest state, South Sudan.
The third? The United States of America.
As we approach the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, it’s time to call for its ratification.
While it goes without saying that conditions for children, as well as all peoples, have improved in the last 25 years, many countries have used the convention to strengthen or adopt national legislation to improve the lives of children. For example, child labor has been reduced drastically in the last two decades. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), the number of child laborers has declined by one third since 2000. Even with this great progress, nearly 170 million children are still in child labor.
Similarly, female genital mutilation has seen significant decrease worldwide; however, it is still practiced today in many African countries and, to a lesser extent, the Middle East, some Asian countries, and some migrant communities in Europe and North America. Human Rights Watch also notes that female genital mutilation is not isolated to one religious group. While closely associated with the Muslim faith, it is practiced in the Christian and Jewish faiths as well. Links to religion are often erroneous in nature and predate Christianity and Islam.
Only with continued efforts supported by the convention can we rid the world of such dangerous environments for our children. This is not to say that great progress has not been made. One of the most promising improvements is the education of our children. Today, 81 percent of children worldwide are enrolled in school. That number is up from 53 percent in 1990.
Additionally, iniquities such as child illiteracy and capital punishment against children have declined as well. So the question must be asked, why hasn’t the United States ratified such a treaty?
One of the biggest arguments for opposition to the treaty would be the risk to American sovereignty. In most cases, the United States ratifies an international treaty with the condition that it would not supersede national law.
Some opponents also argue that the treaty would compromise parental decision making and promote government intrusion into the family dynamic. This argument goes unsupported; 19 provisions within treaty acknowledge the role of parents in the affairs of their children.
United States ratification will strengthen our ability to promote and defend children’s rights around the world. It will also lay the groundwork for legislation to help struggling families within our own borders. We cannot continue to stand alongside countries whose human rights records we condemn. We must take action and ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child. If we do so, we can set precedence for bipartisan cooperation on advocating for human rights.
