http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/k2crc.htmConvention on the Rights of the Child, G.A. res. 44/25, annex, 44 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 49) at 167, U.N. Doc. A/44/49 (1989), entered into force Sept. 2 1990.
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http://www.freethechildren.org/youthina ... tified.htmThis is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
195 States have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Only two more States are left ? Somalia and the USA - making the UNCRC the first nearly universally ratified human rights treaty in history!
Somalia - Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child is not possible at this time. Somalia does not currently have an internationally recognized government.
USA ? the USA has signed, but not ratified.
The US position on the Convention is best summed up by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, who stated: "It is misleading and inappropriate to use the Convention as a litmus test to measure a nation's commitment to children. As a non-party to the Convention, the United States does not accept obligations based on it, nor do we accept that it is the best or only framework for developing programs and policies to benefit children."
The US holds the above position on the Convention for a number of reasons:
Parental Authority - It is believed that the convention will undermine parental authority, interfere with parents' ability to raise and discipline their children, and make the rights of children more important than the rights of parents. In reality, the convention repeatedly refers to the importance of the parent-child relationship, and requires governments to respect the rights and duties of parents.
The Death Penalty - The Convention prohibits the use of the death penalty for offenses committed by persons under the age of 18. However, twenty-five U.S. states allow executions of juvenile offenders, and as of July 1, 2001, there were eighty-five juvenile offenders on death row in the United States. In the last five years, eight executions of juvenile offenders were carried out in the United States.
Issue of Rights - Traditionally, the US has recognized civil and political rights (such as the rights to expression, assembly and due process), but not economic, social and cultural rights (such as the right to education, health care and an adequate standard of living). The Convention includes both.
Issue of Jurisdiction - The US argues that many of the issues addressed by the Convention lie primarily within the jurisdiction of the states, rather than the federal government. For example, in the United States, individual states are responsible for education, and for setting laws related to the administration of juvenile justice. Federalism in the U.S. should not necessarily be an obstacle to ratifying the Convention. Other countries with federal systems have ratified the Convention, including Brazil, Germany and Mexico.
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On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the full text of which appears in the following pages. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and "to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories."
http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.htmlconcerning foriegn children too:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/children/index.do[ This Message was edited by: ? on 2005-06-15 00:49 ]
