extent the Convention [on the Rights of the Child] deals with children as unspecified, unsituated people, it tends in fact to deal with white, male, and relatively privileged children. (Frances Olsen, ‘Children’s Rights: Some feminist approaches to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child’, 1995: 195) Introduction Whoever wants to deal with children and childhoods in the world today and wants to be clear about their universal rights must refer to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, the Convention). This international convention
185 SIX Rethinking children’s rights The most recent phase of childhood – let us call it the age of the child citizen – is one in which the principle that children are capable of living within civil societies, and that they are honorary citizens, serves as both a rallying point for many organisations, networks and groups, and as the focus of conduct and policymaking in the fields of government, law and civil society. Although the emancipation of children as full citizens is bitterly contested – there is plenty of resistance from government administrators
33 THREE Children’s rights Growth of children’s rights The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) has received almost universal support. Within five years of coming into force it had been ratified by 177 of the world’s 191 countries (Lansdown, 1995). A convention of such magnitude will inevitably impact on all aspects of children’s lives – political, social, economic and cultural. It will also impact on those working with or on behalf of children. Professionals such as planners, architects, recreation managers, researchers and others who are involved
PART III Children’s rights and the decolonization of childhoods
has not yet been fully achieved, rather remains an ongoing process instead. In fact, as Mitchell (2013 , p 510) notes, ‘for those still interested in a fuller implementation and practice of children’s rights in any location anywhere in the world, it is always a half-full, and in the same moment, a half-empty glass’. The primary focus of the CRC is the ‘best interests of the child’, 6 which is considered to be the overarching principle in the care and welfare of the world’s children ( Hammarberg, 1990 , p 99). Also, it has been claimed by Bullis (1991 , p 244
been supplemented by instruments adopted at international and regional levels, producing a now comprehensive framework for the legal protection of children’s rights. Children who come into conflict with the law were an early concern of the international community, resulting in two substantial provisions in the CRC – Articles 37 and 40 – that address the child’s rights in youth justice and detention ( Liefaard, 2020 ). Article 40(1) of the CRC recognizes the right of children in conflict with the law to be treated in a manner consistent with their sense of dignity
The UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty detailed many children’s poor experiences in detention, highlighting the urgent need for reform.
Applying a child-centred model of detention that fulfils the rights of the child under the five themes of provision, protection, participation, preparation and partnership, this original book illustrates how reform can happen. Drawing on Ireland’s experience of transforming law, policy and practice, and combining theory with real-life experiences, this compelling book demonstrates how children’s rights can be implemented in detention.
This important case study of reform presents a powerful argument for a progressive, rights-based approach to child detention. Worthy of international application, the book shares practical insights into how theory can be translated into practice.
Introduction Chapter 6 considered the extent to which Oberstown Children Detention Campus has implemented the rights-based model of detention. While noting the progress made in the advancement of children’s rights to child-centred care, provision of need and preparation for leaving, the chapter concluded by noting the potentially transformative effects of fulfilling children’s rights under the themes of participation and partnership. This chapter notes that protection rights are fundamental to children’s rights in detention in two ways. First, they
At the heart of an approach designed to advance children’s rights in detention is the requirement to take account of the needs of the child – Article 37 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) – and to ensure that the ‘conditions and circumstances’ ensure respect for their rights (Havana Rule 12). The international standards require ‘individual assessments’ of need and ‘a multi-disciplinary approach’ ( CRC Committee, 2019a , p 18). International standards recommend that on admission to detention, the child should be interviewed and a
reach their potential. A government embracing its children’s rights obligations always has one eye on creating the conditions for children to have fulfilling adult lives, but the UNCRC’s true purpose is to cherish children for the people they are today. With its 54 separate articles and more than 40 substantive rights, the treaty requires the state to be active and expansive in transforming children’s lives. This large state responsibility towards children mirrors the obligations fulfilled every day at micro level by parents and other adult family members whose
