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Child Rights History & UN CRC Overview

This document provides a history of the evolution of child rights from 1901-present. It discusses the key events and documents that established and expanded child rights, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC) in 1989. The UN CRC took a unique approach of combining civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights specific to children. However, challenges remain in fully implementing children's rights. Gaps still exist in laws, political will, awareness, resources and enforcement.

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Junaid Ahmed
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31 views20 pages

Child Rights History & UN CRC Overview

This document provides a history of the evolution of child rights from 1901-present. It discusses the key events and documents that established and expanded child rights, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC) in 1989. The UN CRC took a unique approach of combining civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights specific to children. However, challenges remain in fully implementing children's rights. Gaps still exist in laws, political will, awareness, resources and enforcement.

Uploaded by

Junaid Ahmed
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

History of Child Rights & UN CRC

for Child parliamentarians

19TH SEPTEMBER 2016


Iqbal Ahmed Detho
Presentation Plan
 History of Child Rights Evolution
 UN CRC
 Gaps in practice
 Challenges
 Conclusion
 Question-Answer session
Phases of Evolution
 1901-1947
 1948-1977
 1978-1989
 1989-2000
 2001-onwards
1901-1947
 Ended the invisibility of children
 Attention on the issues of child labor, hazardous
work, trafficking and sexual exploitation
 ILO conventions on minimum age, night work
 Geneva Declaration on the rights of child-1924
(care/protection model)
Mankind owes to the child the best it has to give
1948-1977
 Universal Declaration of Human rights-art:25(2)
 Geneva Conventions on the laws of war-Child as specific category of
protected person
 UN declaration on the rights of child-1959(Social /Welfare model)
Child by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special
safeguards, including legal protection, before as well as after birth
 Two International Human rights Covenants
 ICCPR-23&24, ICESCR-10
 Non-discrimination as general principle of Human rights
 Discrimination in education (UNESCO-60), employment and
occupation (ILO-58)
 CERD and CEDAW-female and girl child
1978-1989
 1978 Polish proposal in Commission on Human
Rights (CHR) now renamed as Human rights
council (HRC)
 1979-1989 Drafting in the commission on human
rights
 1989 (20th November) General Assembly
adoption.
 1990 (2nd September) entry into force.
 192 States Parties latest ratification - Timor Leste
1989-2000

World Declaration on the survival , Protection and


Development of Children-1990
Vienna declaration and program of Action -1993,Art-21

ILO convention on WFCL-1999


 Landmines convention
 Optional Protocol on sale of children, child prostitution,
child pornography entry into force 18 January 2002.
 Optional protocol on involvement of children in Armed
conflicts entry into force 13 February 2002, Amendment of
article 42 (2) came into force in 2002.
2001-onwards
 World summit for Child rights
A world fit for children-Out come
document (GA Resolution 10th May 2002)
The Yokohama Global commitment 2001
WHY DO CHILDREN HAVE A SET OF
HUMAN RIGHTS SPECIFIC TO THEM
 Children as Humans-Recognition that they are entitled to
Human rights (not as property of their guardians)
 Children require additional protection

 MORAL AND LEGAL RECOGNITION OF


THEIR EMOTIONAL, PHYSICAL AND
PSYCHOLOGICAL VULNERABILITY

THEIR NEED FOR SPECIAL CARE.


 RECOGNITION OF THE OBLIGATION TO RESPECT
AND ENSURE RESPECT FOR THEIR RIGHTS.
UN CONVENTION ON THE
RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
 ORIGINS :-
 Invisibility of the child in general human rights
law and its enforcement.
 Fragmentation of child – specific provisions.
 Significant gaps in the law.
 Lack of an advocacy and programming focus for
children
DISTINTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF
THE UNCRC.
 UNIQUELY addressing a phase of human development.
 Uniting civil, political, economic, social and culture rights and
identifying child-specific rights.
 Organized around four core principles :
 Non-discrimination-article 2

 The child’s rights to be heard-article 12

 The best interests of the child-article 3

 The child’s rights to survival and development (Evolving

capacity of the child)-article 6


• Bridging human rights and humanitarian law.
• Recognizing roles for civil society, UN agencies and others
EXCEPTIONAL ASPECTS
OF THE IMPLEMENTATION
PRACTICE OF THE UNCRC
 Near universal ratification from the outset
 Promoting innovative implementation tools
 Eg Governmental inter-departmental bodies
 Government/civil society coordination bodies
 Rights-audits/policy impact assessments
 From national to local: Child Friendly Cities
 Independent national child rights institutions
 Promoting innovative treaty body and reporting
methodologies
Compliance
 E.g Report preparation by states
 The role of civil society
 Procedures for consideration of reports
 The role of Concluding Observations
 CRC informing other human rights
instruments and mechanism
Regional level recognition of
children's rights
 African Charter on the Rights and the Welfare of the Child
(1999)

 Inter-American Court of Human Rights


Villagran Morales et al. V. Guatemala (1999)
Advisory Opinion, “Legal Status and Human Rights of the Child”
(2002)

Council of Europe
European Convention on the Exercise of Children’s Rights (1996)
Calls by Parliamentary Assembly for a European Omnibus Convention
on Child Rights
Challenges for CRC in Human
rights framework
 CRC creating space for human rights in
hostile environments and complex
emergencies
 Promoting of human rights compliance
(formal and practical) by non-state armed
groups (e.g South Sudan and Sierra Leone)
 Initiating efforts toward a culture of human
rights
CHALLENGES FACED BY
THE UNCRC
IMPLEMENTATION
 Notwithstanding near universal ratification
of CRC the levels of human rights abuse of
children remain at crisis levels across the
globe
 At least five elements underlie the gap
between obligation and implementation of
the rights of the child:
Gaps in implementation
 Gaps in law
 Lack of will
 Ignorance
 Lack of resources
 Weak enforcement
• Gaps in law e.g
• A need to address specific groups including the
girl child, indigenous, the disabled and IDP’s
New duty bearers
 The responsibility of non-State actors
 The responsibility of international
organizations
 The responsibility of TNC and MNCs

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