TY - JOUR
T1 - The Third Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child? – Challenges Arising Transforming the Rhetoric into Reality
AU - Smith, Rhona
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - A third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child completes the raft of international mechanisms for ensuring children’s rights. However, it also raises unique problems particular to children as rights’ holders and putative rights’ enforcers. For example, children may not know of their rights, they may lack the necessary capacity to initiate enforcement actions and they may encounter problems should they perceive their rights as being contrary to parental wishes. Overcoming such problems is fraught with challenges but not impossible. Strong national mechanisms present a partial solution. Long advocated, they offer possibilities for awareness-raising, neutral representation of the child’s interest before courts, committees and tribunals and ensuring a balance is sought, even achieved, between the rights of the child and those of the parents and State
AB - A third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child completes the raft of international mechanisms for ensuring children’s rights. However, it also raises unique problems particular to children as rights’ holders and putative rights’ enforcers. For example, children may not know of their rights, they may lack the necessary capacity to initiate enforcement actions and they may encounter problems should they perceive their rights as being contrary to parental wishes. Overcoming such problems is fraught with challenges but not impossible. Strong national mechanisms present a partial solution. Long advocated, they offer possibilities for awareness-raising, neutral representation of the child’s interest before courts, committees and tribunals and ensuring a balance is sought, even achieved, between the rights of the child and those of the parents and State
KW - UN Convention
KW - individual communications
KW - rights’ holders
KW - rights enforcers
KW - national institutions
KW - children
U2 - 10.1163/15718182-5680020
DO - 10.1163/15718182-5680020
M3 - Article
SN - 0927-5568
SN - 1571-8182
VL - 21
SP - 305
EP - 322
JO - Journal of International Children's Rights
JF - Journal of International Children's Rights
IS - 2
ER -