Children, Rights, and the Law

Book excerpt: The adoption in November 1989, by the UN General Assembly, of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child heralded the arrival of a new era in the development of children's rights. As of March 1991 over 75 states have ratified the Convention. Using the Convention as a frameworkthe contributors to this volume set out to re-evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of approaching issues of children's welfare and well-being through the lens of a `rights' approach. The aim is to take a fresh look at these issues and to do so with specific reference to an international treatythat is certain to be ratified by a very large number of countries in every region of the world and which will soon be legally binding in many states.This is a special issue of the International Journal of Law and the Family.Contributors: Tom Campbell, Onora O'Neill, Michael Freeman, Ngaire Naffine, Margaret Coady, Tony Coady, Sheila McLean, Frances Olsen, and John Eekelaar.