The evolution of a human rights convention

The creation of a human rights convention involves the collaborative efforts of many individuals and institutions. The starting point is always a perceived need, a human rights problem that needs to be addressed by the international community. It may be a general need to codify basic rights, such as those in the Covenants, or a specific global concern, such as the proliferation of land mines or the trafficking of persons.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child provides an example of the process by which a human rights convention evolves and the role of NGOs in its creation.

1. Identification of a problem:

Efforts to protect children from abuse and exploitation date back to the nineteenth century, when children were generally regarded as the property of their parents until they reached the age of maturity, generally twenty-one. Reformers focused on child labour and abuse of homeless or orphaned children. In 1923 Eglantine Jebb drafted The Declaration on the Rights of the Child, which was adopted by the League of Nations in 1924.

However, neither the UDHR nor the conventions that evolved as the UN human rights framework made any specific notice of the rights of children. These documents tacitly generalised that like every human being, children had human rights, but they failed to recognize children as rights-bearing individuals.

2. A statement of general principles:

The first step toward the Children’s Convention was the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child. In 1959 a working group drafted ten principles setting forth the basic rights to which all children should be entitled. However, as a declaration, these principles were not legally binding on governments.

3. The drafting process:

These principles then needed to be codified in a convention. The formal drafting process for the Children’s Convention lasted nine years, during which representatives of governments, intergovernmental agencies, such as UNICEF and UNESCO, and nongovernmental organisations large (e.g. Save the Children, the International Red Cross, Oxfam) and small (e.g. national organisations working on specific issues such as child labour, health, education or sports) worked together to create consensus on the language of the convention.

4. Adoption:

The Children’s Convention was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1989.

5. Ratification:

The Children’s Convention was immediately signed and ratified by more nations in a shorter period of time than any other UN convention.

6. Entry into force:

As a result of its rapid ratification, the Children’s Convention entered into force as international law in 1990, only a few months after its adoption. Furthermore, the total number of member states that have ratified the Children’s Convention has surpassed that of all other conventions. So far only two member states have not ratified it: Somalia and the United States.

7. Implementation, Monitoring and Advocacy:

As with all human rights conventions, the Children’s Convention provides individuals, NGOs and international organisations with a legal basis for their advocacy on behalf of children. They can motivate a government to ratify a treaty and monitor how they keep their treaty obligations. When a government fails to meet these commitments and violates the rights of children, NGOs can call them to account. In cases of systematic abuse, individuals and NGOs can bring a case before the Committee on the Rights of the Child.