Is the U.S.
Against Children's Rights?
By César Chelala
On the 26th year
of the Convention on the Rights
of the Child (CRC) Somalia
recently became the 195th state
party to ratify the convention.
As South Sudan is expected to
ratify the Convention later this
year, the U.S. would be the only
country in the world that hasn’t
yet ratified the CRC.
The Convention is an
internationally recognized
agreement among nations which
establishes a comprehensive set
of goals for individual nations
to achieve to improve the lives
of their children. Both the
Ronald Reagan and the George H.W.
Bush administrations played an
important role in drafting the
treaty, which was signed by the
U.S. government in 1995,
indicating the nation’s intent
to consider its ratification.
The next step, so far
unfulfilled by the U.S., is for
the President and his advisors
to draft a Statement of
Reservations, Understandings and
Declarations which will be
presented together with the
Convention to the Senate for its
“advice and consent.” Once the
Senate approves the treaty with
a two-thirds majority, it goes
back to the President who can
ratify it. Although President
Barak Obama has described the
failure of the U.S. to ratify
the convention as
“embarrassing,” his
administration has not yet
submitted the Convention to the
Senate.
The Convention calls for all
children, including those with
disabilities, to be free from
violence and abuse, and compels
governments to provide them with
adequate nutrition and health
care. At the same time, the
Convention demands that children
have equal treatment regardless
of gender, race or cultural
background and have the right to
express their opinions and have
freedom of thought in matters
affecting them.
In addition, the CRC emphasizes
the primacy and importance of
the role, authority and
responsibility of parents and
family and is consistent with
the principles contained in the
Bill of Rights. The ratification
of the convention has been
endorsed by about a hundred
organizations in the U.S., among
them the American Academy of
Pediatrics, the American Baptist
Churches, the American Bar
Association, the National
Education Association and the
Child Welfare League of America.
Given this level of
endorsements, why hasn’t the CRC
been ratified by the U.S.? The
CRC has found a notable degree
of opposition within the Senate
and in the public. Opposition to
this Convention by some
religious groups –some of which
claim it conflicts with the U.S.
Constitution- have played an
important role in the
non-ratification of the treaty
so far.
Several among these groups have
portrayed the Convention as a
threat to national sovereignty,
states’ rights, the child-parent
relationship and parental
rights. However, as Lawrence S.
Wittner, a Professor of History
emeritus at the State University
of New York (SUNY) at Albany has
said, “Although some current
U.S. laws clash with the
Convention’s child protection
features, most U.S. laws are in
line with the Convention.” The
U.S. also can reject or attach
clarifying language to any
specific provision of the
Convention.
Regarding the claim that the
Convention can override the U.S.
Constitution, the Supremacy Law
of the U.S. Constitution
establishes that no treaty can
override the Constitution. In
addition, the Convention does
not grant any international body
enforcement authority over the
U.S. or its citizens but only
obligates the parties to the
Convention to submit periodic
reports regarding how the
provisions of the treaty are
progressing.
Regarding the issue of parental
discipline and discipline in the
schools some parents have
expressed concern that the
Convention will eliminate
parents’ rights to discipline
their children. Rather than
doing that, however, the
Convention states that children
should be protected from all
forms of mental or physical
violence and
maltreatment.
Because of widespread
conservative opposition to the
Convention it is unlikely that
President Obama will send it to
the Senate for consideration. As
a result, the U.S. will continue
to be at odds with the rest of
the world regarding children’s
basic rights. It will also erode
the world’s perception of U.S.
morality with regard to its most
vulnerable citizens.
César Chelala, MD, PhD, is a co-winner of an Overseas
Press Club
of America
award. He is
also the
foreign
correspondent
for
Middle East
Times
International
(Australia).
|
Click for
Spanish,
German,
Dutch,
Danish,
French,
translation- Note-
Translation may take a
moment to load.
What's your response?
-
Scroll down to add / read comments
|
Support Information Clearing House
|
|
|
Please
read our
Comment Policy
before posting -
It is unacceptable to slander, smear or engage in personal attacks on authors of articles posted on ICH.
Those engaging in that behavior will be banned from the comment section.
|
|
|