Did you know...

Did you know that the United States is one of only two countries, which has not approved the Rights of the child?

Just last week we were shocked in class. Why? We had just learnt this fact. The United States along with one other country - Somalia are the only two countries which have not approved the UN Convention on The Rights of The Child. This ‘news’ was initially quite baffling considering that 193 countries have since approved these rights, including every other member of the United Nations. I thought, how come? Really? Why...The reasons we were informed were two fold. One, in the United States children receive the death penalty, and two approving these rights would weaken parent’s rights. These reasons frankly only raised more questions in my head. To what extent are American children protected by the justice system? Would approving the UN Conventions on the Rights of the Child, really weaken parent’s rights? How?

I therefore looked forward to the readings of this week and was glad to have my questions answered. Indeed there are a number of complex issues which have resulted in the delay in reaching a general agreement on what Rights children should have in the United States. However I do not think that these issues are totally peculiar to the United States. There are cases where the Convention has had to be adapted to particular socio-cultural settings. For instance the member states of The African Union (previously known as the Organization of African Unity) believed that the United Nations Conventions on The Rights of the Child did not include important socio-cultural and economic realities particular to Africa. Subsequently taking into account these factors and the virtues of the continent’s cultural heritage and historic background, The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child was adopted in 1990. Presently this charter has been approved by forty-three of the fifty-three countries in the continent. This example further supports Walker’s belief that ‘children’s rights must be considered in context’. Indeed I agree with him in his conviction, that the time has come for the United States to take that first important step, from which other steps will follow – the ratification of the UN Convention.

Thankfully there is hope as President Barack Obama at the Walden University Presidential Youth debate in October 2008, described the United States failure to ratify the UN Convention as ‘embarrassing’ and has promised to review it.