An In-depth Look at Article 16 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
During our e-mail series on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, a constant theme has been the recurring intervention of government power in the relationship between children and their parents. Broad discretion for the state is particularly prevalent in the Convention’s “freedom” provisions, which guarantee choices to children when it comes to expression, information, religion, and association.
Perhaps the most troubling of these “freedom” provisions is article 16, which stipulates that “no child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence.” More so than any other section of the Convention, article 16 invokes the power of the government in ways previously unseen and untested in America’s legal and political history.
Paradigm Shift
The key to understanding article 16 is found in its absolute language: no child is to have his or her right to privacy violated. According to American law professor Cynthia Price Cohen, article 16 “uses the strongest obligatory language in the human rights lexicon to protect the child’s privacy rights.” Read the rest of this entry »
An In-Depth Look at Article 14 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
This week, we continue our series on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child with Article 14, which says that the government shall “respect the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion,” and shall also “respect the rights and duties of the parents and, when applicable, legal guardians, to provide direction to the child in the exercise of his or her right in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child.”
Proponents of the CRC, such as law professor Jonathan Todres, has commented that Article 14 “provides for the role of parents in teaching religion to their children, while ensuring that the government does not impose restrictions on any child’s right to freedom of religion.” Nevertheless, a deeper understanding of this provision reveals that the purportedly “pro-parent” language is really another avenue for government power, not a shield to protect parental rights. Read the rest of this entry »
Part II of an In-depth Look at Article 13 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
In an age where information is becoming easier to access every day, children face new and uncharted risks. Our American heritage has long honored the right of parents to direct their child’s access to information, recognizing that in the vast majority of circumstances, parents are best situated to monitor their child’s activities and to provide necessary guidance during the transition from childhood to adulthood. Unfortunately, this vital role is being undermined by the rising tide of international thought, far removed from our own tradition and championed by international agreements like the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Read the rest of this entry »
Part I of an In-depth Look at Article 13 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
This week, we continue our series on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child by considering Article 13, which states that “the child shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of the child’s choice.”
The crux of this article is the child’s “right to information.” Children access information through what they are taught and what they discover on their own. This week, we will consider the Convention’s implications on what children are taught.
Read the rest of this entry »
An In-depth Look at Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
Last week, we looked at how Article 9 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child gives the government authority to intervene in the decisions of parents simply by appealing to the child’s “best interests.” This week, we continue our in-depth analysis of the CRC by examining Article 12, which says: “States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.” Read the rest of this entry »
An In-depth Look at Article 9 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
Last week, we began our series on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) by looking at the Convention’s central focus on the “best interests of the child,” which allows the government to substitute its will for that of the parents. This principle is significant as we turn our attention to one of the first rights that the CRC grants to children: the right to remain in their family. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s usually looked upon as a positive means of holding countries accountable to protect children. But the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is so much more than that.
When the UNCRC was brought up for ratification in 1995, the core group of Senators in opposition concluded that this treaty marked a significant departure from the originally constituted relationship between state and child. They found, in fact, that it was literally incompatible with the right of parents to raise their children as well as a wholesale giveaway of U.S. sovereignty.
But why?
Widespread concerns about the UNCRC stem from the treaty’s repeated emphasis on one key principle used to guide all decisions affecting children: consideration of the “best interests of the child.” This principle underlies all of the rights found in the Convention. Read the rest of this entry »
Last week, I had an opportunity to speak with Dr. Jerry Johnson about the parental rights amendment. During the ten-minute interview, we spoke about the threat to parental rights, the hesitance of conservative judges like Scalia to defend parental rights without recourse to the explicit text of the constitution, and the growing danger of international law.
Listen to the radio interview with Dr. Johnson on the web. The discussion of the parental rights amendment begins 29 minutes into the program.
ParentalRights.org Executive Director Rich Shipe joined the Don Kroah Show on WAVA 105.1 in Washington DC last night for a discussion on the crucial need for the Parental Rights Amendment. Listen to the broadcast here (go to Wednesday January 16, 2008 — Hour 1, Minute 11:00).
Playwright Julie Pascal’s recent article decrying the teaching of religion to children offers a revealing glimpse into some of the dangerous potential found within the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Referring to teaching religion to children as a form of child abuse, author Julie Pascal cites the Convention’s wording on the importance of “respect for the views of the child.”
The UNCRC has been challenged because of it’s reliance on government definitions of the “best interest of the child” — rather than observance and respect for a parent’s concept of what is right for their child.
Read more about some of the dangers of the UNCRC.
