Who Is a Child? The Politics of Human Rights, the Convention on the Right of the Child (CRC), and Child Marriage in Nigeria

Abstract

Despite being one of the most ratified international legal documents in history, battles over the definition of the child in the United Nations 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) continue to ignite controversies in some countries. These battles, which more or less reflect the politics of human rights in relation to the CRC, have become salient among advocates and opponents of child marriage in Nigeria. Thus, using a conceptual framework that recognizes the politics of human rights as a political battleground, this chapter examines the battles over the definition of a child between advocates and opponents of child marriage in Nigeria. It analyzes how different state and non-state actors and institutions engage in political battles with regards to the definition of the child.