CICLR is thrilled to announce its Fall 2024 Online Symposium dedicated to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), featuring pieces from three esteemed scholars: Dr. Cristina L.H. Traina (Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., Chair of Catholic Theology, Fordham University), Dr. Adrian Loretan (Professor of Canon Law and Law & Religion, University of Lucerne) and Dr. Hille Haker (Richard A. McCormick, S.J., Chair of Catholic Moral Theology, Loyola University Chicago).
The CRC was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989 after ten years of deliberations. The CRC is now the most widely ratified human rights instrument, with every United Nations Member State except the United States having ratified the treaty. The treaty’s 41 substantive provisions are guided by the spirit of four general principles: (1) non-discrimination or equality of opportunity; (2) the best interests of the child; (3) the right to life, survival, and development; and (4) the views of the child. There have been substantial achievements made in the 35 years since the CRC’s genesis, including the amelioration of child survival and heath, increased access to schooling, and a decline in the global prevalence of girls marrying before the age of 18. However, there is still much work to do to ensure that every child can enjoy the rights that are so deservedly theirs. In far too many locales across the globe, one in five children find themselves caught in the crossfire of armed conflict. Furthermore, it is estimated that 333 million children live in extreme poverty, and that 61 million children do not receive primary schooling. The rights of the child do not fare much better on domestic soil. As of 2023, every state in the United States failed to satisfy international children’s rights standards. The United States is the only country in the world where children—disproportionately children of color—serve life sentences without the possibility of parole. 41 states still permit child marriages, and it is estimated that a quarter of a million children as young as 10 were married between 2000 and 2018. Furthermore, child labor remains a prominent issue stateside, with children as young as 12 performing hazardous work on commercial farms for hours on end. Moving from the physical into digital realm, the proliferation of social media platforms like TikTok also implicates child labor concerns as exploitative “family channels” in the United States turn a profit off the backs of children free from any legislative interference.
Our fantastic symposium pieces probe moral agency in the realm of child labor organizing, sexualized violence against children in the Catholic Church, and children's conception of time and their right to a future. The pieces may be accessed below.
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