The Convention on the Rights of Children Essay -- Essays Papers

The Convention on the Rights of Children Growing up, I could not possibly count the number of times my parents told me how hard it was to raise a child in this world. I can, however, remember how hard it was being one. Luckily, I was blessed with two loving parents who always had my best interests in mind and eventually as I passed through the innocence of my youth and the awkwardness of adolescence to where I am today, I got to fully understand the sacrifices that they made on my behalf. I also realize that not everyone has guardians who are able or willing to make such sacrifices, and as a result children can often suffer. As a society, we must investigate potential dangers to children that could hurt their upbringing both physically and mentally, and come to terms with certain solutions that would help underprivileged children. According to UNICEF, an estimated 12 million children under the age of five die every year of easily preventable causes, and about 160 million children are severely or moderately malnourished. Th ese figures only describe the tip of the iceberg in terms of physical barriers that children around the world face, and we cannot ever truly know the amount of emotional abuses that coincides with this figure. Clearly, something is not right and needs to be addressed in order to protect children on a global level. In order to determine the manner in which to protect children, we have to examine the nature of their rights. Do children have the need for special rights aside from established adult human rights? I would think so, and many would agree with that conclusion. Issues such as infant mortality, child labor, and child abuse extend beyond the scope of adult human rights. For instance, whereas an adu... ... to be addressed in addition to the human rights afforded to adults. Children are more vulnerable than adults and face several different issues that currently are not addressed in world affairs. The Convention on the Rights of the Child attempts to address these matters, but the lack of support from the United States gives the document a lack of esteem in terms of world respect. Obviously, there is something wrong with the picture that the U.S. and Somalia (which only does not sign because it does not have an official government) are the only countries to hold out from the process. The United States has the obligation as a world leader to not only participate in human rights issues, but to be an active leader in such matters. The U.S. has failed in both respects, and owes it to the children of the world to be a signatory on the Convention on the Rights of the Child.