{"id":25132,"date":"2015-03-18T05:00:40","date_gmt":"2015-03-18T09:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/?p=25132"},"modified":"2015-03-15T23:50:35","modified_gmt":"2015-03-16T03:50:35","slug":"convention-on-the-rights-of-the-child-articles-1-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2015\/03\/convention-on-the-rights-of-the-child-articles-1-5.html","title":{"rendered":"Convention on the Rights of the Child: Articles 1-5"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Last week we looked at the preamble<\/a> to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This week we will look are articles one through five. Bear in mind that I am commenting on the CRC as a layperson and not as a lawyer. Mainly, I want to read through the full thing and I\u2019d like my readers to be familiar with it too, and writing a series looking at it meets both goals.<\/p>\n

\n

PART I<\/strong><\/p>\n

Article 1<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

For the purposes of the present Convention, a child means every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Note that the CRC often leave a great deal of leeway for individual countries.<\/p>\n

\n

Article 2<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

1. States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child\u2019s or his or her parent\u2019s or legal guardian\u2019s race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status.<\/p>\n

2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child\u2019s parents, legal guardians, or family members.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Remember that the CRC is aiming not just at developed countries but also at countries that may have a caste system. Notice, too, that the CRC calls for countries to respect children\u2019s rights regardless of sex, thus taking a strong position against gender discrimination in areas like education. The list does not, however, include sexual orientation. Were it written today, it is possible that this would be different.<\/p>\n

\n

Article 3<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

1. In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This, right here, appears to be the main sticking point for HSLDA and other conservative \u201cpro-family\u201d institutions that oppose enshrining children\u2019s rights in law. the question is who determines what a child\u2019s \u201cbest interests\u201d are. And that is indeed a good question! After all, I wouldn\u2019t want someone determining that it is not in a child\u2019s \u201cbest interests\u201d to grow up with atheist parents, and using that as a justification for taking my children away. So let\u2019s take a step back and think about this.<\/p>\n

Parents do not always act in their children\u2019s best interests\u2014I think we can all admit that. After all, some\u00a0parents abuse or neglect their children. If we decide to assume that what is in a child\u2019s \u201cbest interests\u201d is\u00a0de facto determined by their parents, we consign abused and neglected children to suffer without recourse. So clearly, there has to be some way to talk about children\u2019s best interests as something outside of their parents.<\/p>\n

On some level, what constitutes a child\u2019s \u201cbest interests\u201d will be socially determined and will differ from country to country. This is because legislatures and court systems are part of the society within which they operate rather than separate from it. This means that we may disagree with how other countries interpret and apply children\u2019s \u201cbest interests\u201d\u2014and even that we may disagree with how our own country<\/em> interprets and applies it.<\/p>\n

We are left with two options: Either allow parents to be\u00a0the sole interpreters of their children\u2019s best interests and thus leave abused and neglected children with no recourse, or allow some standards for children\u2019s best interests to be determined by society at large through the legislature and court system and risk that\u00a0the resulting standards will be badly decided and actively harmful.<\/p>\n

Personally, I\u2019ll go with the second option, for a couple of reasons. First, societal standards for the best interests of the child are formulated within a basic outline provided by the CRC, and are based on certain fairly universal ideas. That children should not be removed from their parents without reason, that children should receive an education, that children should not be subjected to abuse or neglect\u2014the basic ideas that underly the best interests standard are not controversial. But second, should our\u00a0societal standards for the best interests of the child be a problem, I can work to change\u00a0them\u2014and other people will likely join me in that. This provides a sort of check and balance that does not exist if we make parents the final determiners of their children\u2019s best interests.<\/p>\n

Any other thoughts on this issue\u00a0are more than welcome!<\/p>\n

\n

2. States Parties undertake to ensure the child such protection and care as is necessary for his or her well-being, taking into account the rights and duties of his or her parents, legal guardians, or other individuals legally responsible for him or her, and, to this end, shall take all appropriate legislative and administrative measures.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And here we have it, already\u2014a mention of parents\u2019 rights. Regardless of what HSLDA may say about the CRC, it does not<\/em>\u00a0erase parental rights and make children wards of the state. But note, too, that parental rights are accompanied by parental duties\u2014I like that framing. In fact, I\u2019ve often thought that instead of parental rights<\/em> we should be talking about parental responsibilities<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n

3. States Parties shall ensure that the institutions, services and facilities responsible for the care or protection of children shall conform with the standards established by competent authorities, particularly in the areas of safety, health, in the number and suitability of their staff, as well as competent supervision.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Sounds good to me! I want my son\u2019s daycare and my daughter\u2019s school to have standards. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\n

Article 4<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

States Parties shall undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative, and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognized in the present Convention. With regard to economic, social and cultural rights, States Parties shall undertake such measures to the maximum extent of their available resources and, where needed, within the framework of international co-operation.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Note that this article works to take account of differing countries\u2019 varying finances.<\/p>\n

\n

Article 5<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

States Parties shall respect the responsibilities, rights and duties of parents or, where applicable, the members of the extended family or community as provided for by local custom, legal guardians or other persons legally responsible for the child, to provide, in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child, appropriate direction and guidance in the exercise by the child of the rights recognized in the present Convention.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cResponsibilities, rights and duties\u201d\u2014here again we see this framing. But note, too, that the CRC doesn\u2019t limit these things to parents, speaking also of the extended family and the community. In part this is because, once again, the CRC was written to be global in scope. While in the West we focus primarily on the nuclear family, this is not a universal across other cultures.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s my\u00a0main takeaway from this section? Well, besides the emphasis on not discriminating against a child based on gender, race, or other factors, I was especially struck by the focus on both<\/em> the best interest of the child standard and<\/em> the idea that parents have rights and duties. If you listen to HSLDA\u2019s rhetoric, you\u2019d think the second focus was entirely absent from the CRC, but it\u2019s pretty clearly not.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What’s my main takeaway from this section? Well, besides the emphasis on not discriminating against a child based on gender, race, or other factors, I was especially struck by the focus on both the best interest of the child standard and the idea that parents have rights and duties. If you listen to HSLDA’s rhetoric, you’d think the second focus was entirely absent from the CRC, but it’s pretty clearly not. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":845,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[287,503,502],"class_list":["post-25132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family","tag-childrens-rights","tag-convention-on-the-rights-of-the-child","tag-united-nations"],"yoast_head":"\nConvention on the Rights of the Child: Articles 1-5<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What's my main takeaway from this section? 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