Revisiting Children's Rights

Book excerpt: The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, passed in 1989, was the first universal treaty dedicated solely to the promotion and protection of the interests of children. In its first decade the Convention achieved near-universal ratification and is now the most widely ratified human rights treaty ever. In addition, as a consequence of its influence, children's human rights have been mainstreamed and are now prioritised at all levels within the United Nations and other regional organisations. This book provides the first comprehensive overview of the first decade of the Convention. It also brings together leading scholars and activists who place the Convention in a wider context and revisit contemporary debates and controversies in children's rights to assess the extent to which these issues have been influenced by the Convention in its first decade.