Abstract
ABSTRACTThat the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) encompasses contradictions is known. Despite this knowledge, attention to conflicting aspects within the convention is limited, and instead, the assumption that the convention represents an international consensus on the meaning of children’s human rights seems to be widespread in policy and academic work. Furthermore, the available literature within the field of children’s rights is largely silent regarding precise and elaborated knowledge about the inherent contradictions within the UNCRC. This paper expands upon and specifies the knowledge about consensus and inconsistencies within the convention. Through an in-depth study of the drafting process of the UNCRC, the paper identifies and displays both contradictions within the convention, and ways in which the text of the convention can be seen to express consensus. The analysis shows how a certain consensus was produced for respectively civil and political rights, and socio-economic rights, but that different and inconsistent children’s rights logics underlay the formation of these respective consensus-formations.
Highlights
We address the tendency towards consensus thinking surrounding the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).[1]
Since the adoption of the UNCRC in 1989, meanings attributed to children’s rights within global political and academic arenas are largely based on the text of the convention
Recent studies demonstrate that governments, non-government organisations (NGOs)
Summary
Through highlighting and elaborating on some of these contradictions, this paper seeks to contribute to a broader critical academic debate about the development of the UNCRC and its role in children’s rights research. Since the adoption of the UNCRC in 1989, meanings attributed to children’s rights within global political and academic arenas are largely based on the text of the convention. Recognisable canon of thought about the rights of children’,3 and Holzscheiter maintains that the convention is the principal driving force behind a global children’s rights culture, dominating international children’s policy.[4] This position as a largely uncontested and legally valid norm has contributed to making the UNCRC a dominant and compelling instrument for advancing human rights for children
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