Twenty years ago, the member states of the United Nations agreed to a binding treaty of international law which would allow all children in all countries and of all ethnicities and cultures to live in a world in which their human rights would be respected and adhered to. It was 1989 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child was born. As envisioned, it has become the standard for and basis of the work of UNICEF, the UN’s children’s organisation.
Over the years, the convention or the CRC as it is now widely known, has helped to bring about amendments to old laws and the passing of new legislation to protect children where none existed before or where the law was so archaic it did more harm than good. Some of the changes made in some member states in the 20 years since the CRC came into being include an end to corporal punishment, the development of juvenile and family courts and improvements in education with emphasis on educating girls in some regions where this had not been seen as a priority or necessity before the CRC.
But it has not all been rosy. In some countries, enforcement of legislation has been and continues to be an issue. Too many adults still see children as their property to do with as they see fit and this engenders mental, physical and sexual abuse and exploitation. And as technology advanced, new threats to children emerged, among them sexual predators using the anonymity the internet offers to pretend to be children’s peers while ‘grooming’ them in order to commit grave crimes against them.
Nevertheless, UNICEF has continued to press for a complete turn about in the way the world treats its children using several different approaches. Strides have been made in some quarters and UNICEF can be justly proud of its achievements at this milestone and to draw from them the strength and sense of purpose needed as it continues to strive for universal change.
According to the CRC, children have the right to the resources, skills and contributions necessary for their survival and full development. These include adequate food, shelter, clean water, formal education, primary health care, leisure and recreation, cultural activities and information about their rights. These rights require not only the existence of the means to fulfil the rights but also access to them.
Children also have the right to protection from all forms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and cruelty, including the right to special protection in times of war and protection from abuse in the criminal justice system.
Children are entitled to the freedom to express opinions and to have a say in matters affecting their social, economic, religious, cultural and political life.
Specific articles in the CRC also address the needs of child refugees, children with disabilities and children of minority or indigenous groups.
However, far too often, in too many places children’s inalienable rights are scoffed at and/or ignored while children continue to be abused, horrifically so in some cases. Too many countries simply pay lip service to the CRC drawing it out much like a magician’s rabbit at opportune moments.
Unfortunately for the children in this country, recent events contribute to Guyana earning a poor scorecard in the child rights arena, despite the hard work being done by some. For instance, there is still way too much dithering over corporal punishment; denial rather than action against child labour and cock-ups in the welfare and education systems that allow for discrimination against children.
As an example, the 2006 World Report on Violence Against Children, published under the auspices of the UN, revealed among other things that children face a high risk of violence while detained in police custody and juvenile detention centres because of the impunity with which state perpetrators of violence tend to operate.
We know this to be true only too well. Late last month, a teenage boy accused of murder became the poster boy in Guyana for how not to treat minors while they are in custody, regardless of what they are accused of. But there was no rush to right what is so blatantly and obviously a wrong. Instead, the state is taking its time with bringing those responsible to justice and using its well-oiled spin machinery attempts to deflect attention from its own oozing canker, by highlighting the perceived misdeeds of others. How this test case for child rights finally plays out will be interesting given the significance of this year.