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Childrens rights week 1 – internationale kinderrechten en kritische reflectiesJaap E. Doek – The Human Rights of Children: An Introduction in international
Human Rights of Children
In 1924 startte het erkennen van de kinderrechten met de Geneefse conventie voor rechten
van het kind gevolgd door de UN-declaratie van de rechten van het kind in 1959.
Toeloop van verklaringen en verdragen
1. Geneefse verdrag voor de rechten van het kind 1924
2. UN Declaratie voor de rechten van het kind 1959
3. IVRK 1989
Geneva Declaration on the rights of the child 1924
In May 1919, Eglantyne Jebb established the Save the Children Foundation in Great Britain
for the purpose of providing the victims of the war, particularly children, with all necessary
relief for their suffering.
a five-point declaration adopted by her organization in May 1923.
A well-known quote from this declaration is that “mankind owes the child the best it has to
give” – a moral standard that is still very valid today.
The UN Declaration on the rights of the child 1959
The next step in that development was the 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child
proclaimed by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly.
After the adoption of the 1959 Declaration, a wide variety of individuals from academia as
well as activists and representatives of civil society organizations in the USA drew attention
to children’s rights in the 1970s, creating a kind of Children’s Rights Movement. The
supporters of the movement were of the view that young people are the most oppressed of all
minorities and based their ideas and actions on the right of the child to self-determination and
the same rights as adults (equal rights for all), that is, the right to be treated no worse than an
adult would be. The movement did not take root, most likely because of its too radical ideas
and proposals.
The drafting of the CRC and some controversial issues
The Polish proposal for a Convention on the Rights of the Child, presented at the 34th session
of the UN Commission on Human Rights in March 1978, was transmitted by the UN
Secretary General to member states.
The responses to the proposal were anything but enthusiastic. Very few respondents expressed
doubts about the need for a separate treaty on the fundamental rights of children, but concerns
were raised regarding the proposed draft. For a legally binding instrument, it did not deal with
the whole range of rights and was silent on matters of implementation.
Controversial issues
Although for most articles consensus was reached relatively easily, there were four very
controversial issues:
, - the definition of the child in Article 1. The upper age limit (18 years) was not the
problem but rather the question of whether the child was entitled to the protection of
the CRC from birth or from conception. There is no answer to this question yet. It
means that the CRC can neither be used to support nor prohibit abortion.
- The right to freedom of religion. During discussions on this draft article, it was
pointed out that under Islam a child does not have the right to choose another
religion; Article 18 ICCPR could only apply to adults.
- The third controversial issue was adoption. The first draft of Article 21 stated: “the
States Parties (…) shall undertake measures, where appropriate, to facilitate the
process of adoption of the child”. The concern discussed was the fact that adoption
of a child is not possible under Islamic law. This discussion led to a text that avoids
any obligation to introduce adoption. Article 21 para. 1 expresses this as follows:
“States Parties that recognize and/or permit the system of adoption shall ensure
- the protection of children in armed conflict. The age must me under 18 in staid of
under 15.
Ratification and reservation
States can make reservations at the time of ratification or accession. They must be compatible
with the object and purpose of the CRC and can be withdrawn at any time (Art. 51 CRC).
Why a separate Treaty on the Human Rights of Children?
In 1966, the UN General Assembly adopted the ICCPR and the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). These two Covenants entered into force in
1976 and are the core international instruments on human rights. Together with the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), they are often called the International Bill of Rights.
According to the records of the Working Group meetings, the question why a separate
children’s rights treaty was necessary was not raised or discussed. Some governments’
delegates, however, questioned the need for reaffirming the fundamental right and freedoms
in the CRC because they were already covered by the existing human rights treaties. They
wanted to limit the Convention to rights specific to children, although without identifying
these rights.
The answer to the question seems to be quite simple and rather opportunistic: the International
Year of the Child 1979 was seen as a good opportunity to turn the 1959 Declaration on the
Rights of the Child into an international binding convention. But this simple beginning
developed into a project that went far beyond the initial ideas and resulted in the adoption of a
very comprehensive convention: the CRC. During the drafting years, and thereafter, various
reasons were mentioned for having a separate treaty on the human rights of children:
- The attention given to the position of children in the two Covenants was limited to
care and protection (ICCPR, Art. 10, para 2 (b) and 14, para. 2 on juvenile justice;
Art. 24 on the right to protection, birth registration, and nationality; ICESCR, Art. 10
on the protection of children) it became clear that the drafters of the Covenants had
by no means considered that children might automatically be rights holders,
alongside adults, of the rights they contain
- A separate treaty obliges states to take children’s rights more seriously. In short, the
child is explicitly recognized as a rights holder, something that is missing from the
Covenants.
- The drafting of the Convention also allowed for the introduction of innovations
specifically relevant to children, such as the best interests of the child as a primary
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