The Convention on the Rights of the Child as an Instrument to Address the Psychosocial Needs of Refugee Children

Abstract

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the General Assembly on 20 November 1989, not only guarantees to children the full range of human rights, but also sets an important precedent by the extent to which it focuses on the rights of the individual child. It not only embodies norms on treatment, but also creates a more realistic view of childhood under international law. Its significance lies both in its strength as an internationally agreed instrument, but also in its potential as a guide for social scientists and advocates interested in the protection and promulgation of children's and refugee children's rights. The negative living conditions confronting refugee children imply that some of their developmental needs wjll be unmet. Under the terms of the Convention, the extent to which refugee children's developmental needs are unmet constitutes an infringement of their individual rights. Established priorities favouring health, nutrition and education programmes, have led to the neglect of psychological and psychosocial development. Psychosocial needs have too often been perceived as mental health issues, necessitating professional intervention. But this ‘sickness’ model to explain refugee behaviour would be better set aside, in favour of an understanding of behaviour as normal reactions to situations of extreme stress. For the refugee child, lack of fulfilment of needs in any one domain can imply a negative outcome for overall development. Social scientists will be better able to deal with such problems by formulating them within the perspective of social systems, and may thereby help lawyers and other advocates to improve the protection of refugee children's rights. Attending to mental health and other psychosocial needs thus constitutes an aspect of policy formulation aiming to protect and enforce the children's rights, within the framework outlined in the Convention. Not to meet the psychosocial needs of refugee children can be viewed as a form of psychological maltreatment, in which international institutions share responsibility. The growing awareness of the psychosocial needs of refugee communities, however, must be matched by an understanding of the ways in which conditions of life influence the refugees' psychological well-being. Refugee communities should not be left outside the normal frame of reference when action is called for to secure their well-being, but must have the benefit of all available and relevant knowledge and information. The Convention on the Rights of the Child and its normative standards on the treatment of children should give impetus to a reassessment of the international community's role and responsibilities in situations of forced migration