Unsatisfying results
Twenty years ago, on November
20,1989, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of
the Child which regards children as independent human beings, who are
not simply subject to their parents' control, but rather have
fundamental rights of their own. According to the Convention, families,
governments and society must consider the interests of children in all
decision-making. Reality, depressingly, often tells a different story
Albert RECKNAGEL
With the exception of the USA and Somalia, all members of the UN have
ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child. No other
human-rights agreement has so many signatories. Every five years, the
parties to the Convention must account to the UN Committee for the
Rights of the Child in Geneva. In many cases, a national coalition of
civil-society organizations is monitoring governments' compliance with
the obligations spelled out in the Convention. The shadow reports of
such coalitions often expand and comment on official data.
There has been significant progress since the Convention was adopted:
child mortality has decreased by 28 percent worldwide since 1990, and
the proportion of boys and girls enrolled in primary school has risen
from 81 percent in 1999 to 85 percent in 2006. Between 2001 and 2006,
more than 95,000 former child soldiers were demobilised. Female genital
mutilation is prohibited by law almost everywhere, and approximately
half of the countries have banned corporal punishment in schools.
Nonetheless, much remains to be done. Every day, some 25,000 children
below the age of five die. Most of them fall victim to illnesses which
are preventable or easy to treat, such as diarrhoea, pneumonia or
measles. This year, moreover, some 1.8 million children and adolescents
under the age of 18 are likely to be sexually exploited for prostitution
and pornography. Approximately a million people under 18 are being held
in custody throughout the world. Despite bans on genital mutilation,
8,000 girls are circumcised every day, a practice still carried out in
many African countries and in Yemen. There are shortcomings in Germany
too. Around 300,000 child refugees live in unacceptable conditions and
in constant fear of being deported, for example.
Climate change and the global financial crisis cause additional
worries. Their impact is likely to ruin much of what has been achieved.
Because of hugely expensive programs to rescue banks and stimulate
economies, the national budgets of many rich countries will afford less
money for social tasks and development aid, and this will be so at a
time when many developing countries need more financial assistance. No
doubt, establishing and enforcing the right to a clean, healthy
environment is just as urgent.
Meanwhile, it is noteworthy that, after almost 20 years of
governments' regular reporting on Convention obligations, children
themselves are still hardly involved. The Convention stipulates that
they be included in all matters affecting them, and there are some
well-established best practices. In South Africa, for example, young
people check the allocation of government funds for programs that target
children (Child Budget Monitoring).
In Nepal, children take part in meetings of the village development
committees and related networks and associations as a matter of course.
These models should be copied internationally.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child has improved many young
people's chances of survival and development, so there is reason to
celebrate. But we must not rest, the requirements of the Convention are
still far from being a reality for all.
The reporting obligations of the signatory states are inadequate.
There need to be sanctions for non-observance of rights, and that will
require effective, independent monitoring everywhere. Of course,
children and young persons have to be involved in such monitoring.
Moreover, it would make sense to allow children to turn to some kind of
international tribunal should their rights be violated.
- Third World Network Features |