Children’s Rights as Human Rights: Examining the Links between Children and International Human Rights in a Global Context

Although the Universal Declaration of Human Rights specifies that children are “entitled to special care and protection,” children are rarely included in general discussions of human rights issues, politics, or policies. As a group, children occupy a marginalized status, largely excluded from political participation, and, depending on age and context, lacking agency to determine the course of their lives.
According to the United Nations, children are entitled to human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as dignity and equality under international human rights law. The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) outlines children’s human rights. Yet, we know little about how states protect children’s human rights and establish what is in the best interest of the child.
This panel consists of six papers that offer broad international comparisons of children’s rights with implications for human rights and public policy. The papers vary in geographic focus as well as methodological approaches. Data and methodological approaches include a content analysis of 193 national constitutions regarding the constitutional presence of children; an analysis of all judgements by the European Court of Human Rights regarding child protection since its origin in 1959 until the end of 2022; original survey data with representative adult samples from 60 countries (representing 80% of the world’s population); experimental research design; and others.
In addition, topics include the protection of children in foster care systems; children’s participation, agency, and voice; child marriage in Europe in the context of international migration; and citizens’ trust in child protection systems. While the papers encompass methodological and topical diversity, they share a focus on examining how children’s human rights are acknowledged and implemented across the globe; outline implications for public policy aiming at establishing and implementing what is in the best interest of the child; and point to some of the obstacles in ensuring children’s international human rights. Thus, this panel will make a unique contribution to further our understanding of how children’s human rights are safeguarded in various contexts.
Panelists range from senior scholars to early-career scholars.