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Obama Joins International Commitment to Children’s Rights
President Obama is seeking to rectify a longstanding blemish on our country’s children’s rights record. Currently, the U.S. and Somalia are the only two U.N. countries who have refused to ratify the global Rights of Child treaty. But the administration is conducting a legal review of the treaty, and leading Democrats are pushing for the Senate to ratify it.
Why the tardiness in joining a 20-year-old treaty that guarantees human rights for children? It has to do with America’s longstanding commitment to corporal punishment. In contrast to many European countries which have outlawed physical abuse, it remains legal for American parents to hit, paddle, spank, and whip their children.
The Rights of Child pact is controversial in the U.S. because not only does it state that children have a right to education and health care, but also to be free from violence. Signing the treaty won’t solve domestic violence overnight, but it will be a step in the right direction toward acknowledging that corporal punishment is ineffective and abusive.
Furthermore, acknowledging that all children have the right to health care could help pave the way for solving the crisis of uninsured kids in the U.S.
Photo: drmavani.org
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2 Comments
Amanda B. commented on Jun 24 09 at 1:37 pmThis treaty you are in favor of states that children have the right to receive “information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of the child’s choice.” What does a provision like that even mean? Should children really be a able to choose whatever “information and ideas” they should be exposed to, and also choose the medium? Also, these UN treaties often end up being completely meaningless in real life. Just ask all the European countries that signed onto Kyoto. This is nothing more than liberal feel-good nonsense.
Brent T. commented on Jun 24 09 at 4:44 pmTo believe that a UN treaty is worth the paper it is printed on is optimistic at best. The UN is an organization that talks to hear itself talk and not one country abides by its treaties unless it suits their own needs. Muslim countries (or any country) are allowed to express reservations on all provisions of the Rights of Child treaty that are incompatible with Islamic Sharia law, accepting only what fits their beliefs. If a country does not follow what is said in the treaty, what will the UN do about? Pass another resolution? Like Amanda B stated “his is nothing more than liberal feel-good nonsense.” In fact, the UN is nothing but “feel-good nonsense”.
By the way, did you know that any treaty the US ratifies supercedes all laws and constitutional amendments? Read Article Six of the United States Constitution and ask yourself if turning over our sovereignty to the rest of the world is something that you want and our something that our brothers and sisters died fighting for.
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