Act Now for Children's Rights

Abstract

As the preeminent profession concerned with children's rights, social work should join with national organizations and private citizens to achieve American ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, the first treaty of its kind. More than 100 nations have approved the treaty since its proclamation by the United Nations in 1989; American ratification will help achieve a uniform concept of children's rights worldwide. The election of President Bill Clinton promises a new opportunity for ratification if the public demonstrates support. Since 1975 the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has sponsored a bill of rights for children and youths that is generally consistent with the U.N. convention. This policy statement deals with domestic children's rights and was reaffirmed by the Delegate Assembly in 1990 (NASW, 1991). NASW members should review the text of the convention (Price-Cohen, 1989; U.N. General Assembly, 1989) to fully appreciate its domestic and international content. Convention Articles The convention includes articles on discrimination against children, the best interests of children, and children's right to survival and development. Also included are rights to a name, nationality, identity, and family relations without unlawful interference. Education, health, an adequate standard of living, and social security are covered. Children are to be protected from child labor, exploitation, and drugs. The rights of disabled children include the international exchange of information to facilitate treatment. Promotion of psychosocial recovery and social reintegration are accorded to child victims of neglect, exploitation, abuse, torture, inhuman treatment, or armed conflicts. Four articles have a major international focus: (1) the right to leave or enter any country for family reunification, (2) the right to protection from illicit transfer and nonreturn from abroad, (3) the right to protection of refugee status, and (4) the right to protection of children who are adopted. Coverage of both domestic and international adoption is included in the convention. Rights specified in the convention cover three major areas: 1. entitlements--material provisions and basic services that all children have the right to expect from society 2. protections--the means to safeguard children's well-being 3. affirmative freedoms--as their capacities develop, the right of children to think, decide, and act on their own (Brieland, Korr, Fallon, & Bretherton, 1991). Entitlements are presented in 14 articles that include care, food, shelter, clothing, health, and schooling. The primary responsibility for these entitlements rests with parents, but for children in poverty, entitlements require governmental intervention and public funding. Protections for all children are covered in 13 articles that discuss abuse and exploitation, child labor, narcotics, and harmful media. Six articles specify protections for specialized clients--refugee children, disabled children, children placed by the state, children without families, and children who are deprived of liberty (including juvenile offenders, some of whom would otherwise face capital punishment). Affirmative rights are presented in seven articles; six apply to all children and one to minority children. The six deal with expression of children's own opinions; leisure and play; privacy; and freedom of information, association, and conscience. Minority children should have the right to enjoy their own culture, practice their own religion, and use their own language. Why Has the United States Failed to Approve the Convention? President George Bush celebrated the worldwide acceptance of the convention by attending the World Summit on Children in 1990 but refused to sign the convention (the first step toward ratification), even though the Senate offered a bipartisan resolution of support. …