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 »
Controversy Across the Globe over a Child’s “Right to Privacy”
A bill in the Wisconsin legislature raised quite a controversy in 2003, sparking a debate over “privacy rights” and parental involvement. The measure would let parents know what books, CDs, and video tapes checked out of public libraries from their children under the age of 16.
Opponents claimed that the measure will harm children by jeopardizing their right to privacy. “It’s a major invasion of the right of privacy of children,” says Rep. Marlin Schneider, an opponent of the bill. “Children need to understand their rights are protected, and if government won’t protect their rights nobody will.”
But state Representative Sheryl Albers explained that the bill is about the ability of parents to be informed about what is going on in the lives of their children. Senator Joseph Leibham, the legislation’s Senate sponsor, agreeed, saying that “this bill provides parents the opportunity to be informed and involved in the lives of their teenage children.”
AN EXPANDING “RIGHT TO PRIVACY”?
The Wisconsin legislature passed the bill in 2003, but the controversy remains. With few exceptions, libraries in the United States are currently prohibited from disclosing any records that indicate the identity of individuals who borrow library materials or use library services: even if the individual is a young child and the inquirer is a parent. Read the rest of this entry »
Keeping with the child-privacy-from-the-parents theme… In New Zealand a 16 year-old girl ran away from home and the parents are trying to find her. The police know where she is but they can’t tell the parents because of “privacy rights of children.”
Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ had this to say in a press release, “Politicians, with the support of the UN, Children’s Commissioner and Youth Law Project to name a few, have sought to increase children’s rights without considering the vital role of parents, and ways of strengthening families rather than splitting them.”
What we are seeing in New Zealand, the UK, and other parts of the world is heading our way. The question is, will we stop it? Will we stand up and fortify the rights of parents for the good of children?
Everyone, (ok, almost everyone) agrees that children need their parents. Let’s make a stand together. Please consider (after signing the petition) contributing to ParentalRights.org so we can further spread the message and then telling your friends about the campaign.
Should public libraries keep a child’s check-out history secret from his or her parents? The Wisconsin legislature is debating this question.
The Milwaukee Jounal Sentinel reports:
The measure would allow parents who request it to obtain records that document their children’s library use.
“We’re saying it’s a parental right,” said Rep. Sheryl Albers (R-Reedsburg), the author of the bill.
But Rep. Marlin Schneider (D-Wisconsin Rapids), who used Assembly procedural rules to block final approval of the bill, said he thought the measure was terrible public policy.
“It’s a major invasion of the right of privacy of children,” he said. “Children need to understand their rights are protected, and if government won’t protect their rights nobody will.”
The “right of privacy of children” from their parents? Are parents the enemies of children? Our government should be supporting the important relationship of the child and parent rather than undermining it. It is not possible to be an effective parent if you can not know what your child is doing.
This type of thing is happening everywhere from the local level to the federal court level. We’ve got to take a stand to protect the child-parent relationship. The essential question here is who should be making the decisions for your children on what materials they look at, the library or you as the parent?
Tell your friends to get involved by signing the Parental Rights Amendment petition.
The greatest threats to parental rights are coming from the federal courts and encroaching international law. Read on for more details. Read the rest of this entry »
