Advocacy of Children's Rights--The Convention as More than a Legal Document

Abstract

The rights conferred by the Convention on the Rights of the Child already are granted by other instruments of international humanitarian law, first and foremost the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. These instruments are aimed at every human being, therefore their provisions also apply to children, though this fact is sometimes taken for granted in the minds of authorities, policymakers, and the public. Nevertheless, the Convention, by stating that children have rights of their own, represents something new and special in the field of international humanitarian law. Further, the Convention collates rights previously found in separate instruments into one integrated document, elaborating and developing these rights according to the special needs and interests of children. Although the Convention on the Rights of the Child represents a new development in international human rights law, the effects of the Convention as a standard-setting document certainly will go far beyond its legal ramifications. Thus, seeing the Convention in a broader perspective and not merely as another part of the machinery of international humanitarian law, a number of features in addition to the legal text of the final document also contribute to its global importance. These represent a most interesting patchwork of attitudes, action, and support that on the one hand made the drafting process so important and successful, and, on the other hand, represent useful inputs to the effective implementation of the Convention. The following aspects of the Convention and the drafting process are particularly interesting: (1) developments in the conceptualization of children's rights; (2) the drafting process as a consciousness-raising process; (3)participation of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); and (4) developing adequate ways of advocating children's rights.