Children’s rights in post-Soviet countries: The case of Russia and Belarus

Abstract

The article constructs children’s rights as a social institution relevant to the multifunctional nature of the contemporary child. In line with the interpretivist approach, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is viewed as a soft law, which requires the pluralization of practices towards international regulations. The juxtaposition of two key approaches to the UNCRC, the double status of the child and the dilemma of public versus private, frames the investigation of the current issues in Russia and Belarus through the discourses operating around children’s rights. The comparison highlights the common shortcomings and the peculiarities, clarifying the possible strategies for refining the implementation of children’s rights in post-Soviet countries.