The Cry of the Children

statement of rights. It is designed to improve the actual state of the world's children in a number of ways. First, the process by which the Convention is ratified in a particular nation, and the discussion, publicity and activity of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) associated with it, creates an atmosphere of increased sensitivity to children's rights and to the needs and public pressure for change.1 48 Second, the Convention is more than a declaration of concern for children. It consists of binding obligations, and, therefore, nations that take their treaty obligations seriously will exercise their best efforts to implement the Convention. 149 In addition, some countries have actually incorporated the entire Convention into domestic law. Third, the monitoring activities of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, even though they are noncoercive and nonconfrontational, have the effect of influencing ratifying countries to implement the Convention for several reasons.151 First, the preparation and publication of the report itself focus the attention of government leaders and the public in the reporting nation on the detailed condition of its children and the deficiencies that 147. "The Convention has produced a profound change that is already beginning to have substantive effects on the world's attitudes towards its children." WORLD'S CHILDREN 1997, supra note 8, at 9. For a discussion of the substantial progress that has been made throughout the world with respect to the condition of children, see infra notes 148-82 and accompanying text. 148. As noted earlier, neither the Convention nor the Committee on the Rights of the Child can directly enforce the obligations imposed by the Convention. For a further discussion of the Convention's enforcement, see supra notes 125-32 and accompanying text. 149. For a further discussion of the obligations imposed by the Convention, see supra note 120 and accompanying text. 150. For a further discussion of the incorporation of the Convention into domestic law, see supra note 126 and infra note 159 and accompanying text. 151. See generally Convention Acceptance, supra note 97, at 38 (discussing purpose of Committee). Hoda Badran, the former chair of the Committee describes the operation of the Committee as "an unspectacular, even bureaucratic process, but it is aimed at bringing change inside national establishments-in national institutions, national plans, national legal systems, national policies-and we have seen enough in five years to know that it works." Id. 1996] 1371 27 Abraham: The Cry of the Children Published by Villanova University School of Law Digital Repository, 1996 VILLANOVA LAW REVIEW should be remedied. 152 In addition, the Committee review process highlights deficiencies, makes suggestions for remedies and periodically examines what progress has been made since the last report.153 The Committee also can make arrangements for technical advice and assistance, and bring to light the nation's need for international aid.154 Finally, the record of the Committee review is made public in the reporting nation and internationally. 55 This creates internal political pressure on the government to remedy the deficiencies disclosed by the process and, at the same time, pressure to avoid a negative public image in the world. 15 6 Lastly, the Convention has inspired other international agreements relating to children's rights.1 57 Reports to the Committee contain evidence that many nations have taken concrete steps to implement the Convention and actu152. For a further discussion of the preparation and publication of the report, see supra notes 131-35 and accompanying text. Article 44 of the Convention requires that the report be made "widely available to the public." Convention, supra note 94, art. 44, 1 6. The Guidelines require the reports to include information about "the measures undertaken or foreseen [by States Parties and] . . .to make their reports widely available to the public at large in their own countries." General Guidelines, supra note 132, 1 11. 153. For a further discussion of the Committee review process, see supra notes 133-35 and accompanying text. 154. See Convention, supra note 94, arts. 44, 45 (establishing and detailing Committee review process). Information from NGOs and other specialized agencies may sometimes provide more detail on topics which countries, exercising their powers of discretion, may not disclose fully. See Karen A. McSweeney, The Potential for Enforcement of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: The Need to Improve the Information Base, 16 B.C. INT'L & COMP. L. Rv. 467, 484 (1993) (explaining that Convention includes specific role for NGOs in monitoring process). 155. See Convention, supra note 94, art. 45(d) (requiring that Committee's "suggestions and general recommendations shall be transmitted to any State Party concerned and reported to the [U.N.] General Assembly"). 156. See Cohen, supra note 125, at 21 (concluding that "main mechanism" for assuring compliance with Convention's standards is "threat of negative publicity and exposure to international scorn"). 157. See, e.g., id. at 60 (discussing Organization of African Unity's adoption of Charter on Rights and Welfare of African Child, July 11, 1990, OAU Doc. CAB/ LEG/153/Rev.2, 3 AFR. J.I.C.L. 173). In 1992, the Hague Conference on Private International Law adopted the Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. See Cohen, supra note 125, at 7275 (discussing draft of Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, 32 I.L.M. 1134 (1993)). In 1996, the European Convention on the Exercise of Children's Rights was opened for signature, reprinted in EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE, supra note 25 at 533-42. Inspired by the adoption of the Convention, the Council of Europe established the Childhood Policies Project, which culminated in a European strategy for children adopted by the Assembly of the Council of Europe in 1996. Recommendation 1286 (1996), reprinted in EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE, supra note 25, at 9-12. 1372 [Vol. 41: p. 1345 28 Villanova Law Review, Vol. 41, Iss. 5 [1996], Art. 1 http://digitalcommons.law.villanova.edu/vlr/vol41/iss5/1 1996] GIANNELLA LECTURE 1373 ally improve the state of their children. 158 An analysis by UNICEF of the forty-three reports that had been reviewed by the Committee through the end of 1995 concluded that a great majority of governments had reported amending their constitutions and/or legislation to harmonize their national law with the provisions of the Convention. 159 In addition, many nations reported that they had established administrative structures to coordinate and monitor the implementation of the Convention at national and local levels. 160 Moreover, a variety of educational programs about the Convention were reported, including the training of officials and judges, and 158. For a discussion of these reports, see infra notes 159-62 and accompanying text. 159. Convention Acceptance, supra note 97, at 38; Progress Report 1995, supra note 137, 34. UNICEF also reports that 14 countries have incorporated the Convention into their constitutions, and 35 have passed new laws or amended existing laws to conform with the Convention. Convention Acceptance, supra note 97, at 38. Honduras, for example, effective 1996, enacted a detailed children's rights code based on the Convention, after a three-year drafting process participated in by government ministries and NGOs. WORLD'S CHILDREN 1997, supra note 8, at 12. Tunisia, for example, completed a two-year process in which national legislation was brought into line with the Convention. Translating Principles into Law, supra note 126, at 38. Brazil has incorporated children's rights into the national constitution. See WORLD'S CHILDREN, supra note 8, at 65 (noting that children's rights proposal became chapter in Brazil's constitution). Subsequently, the Brazilian National Congress adopted a statute which defines children as citizens and explicitly sets forth their right to respect, dignity, freedom, health, education, sports and leisure. Id. In Argentina, the Convention's principles were incorporated into the Argentine Constitution in 1994 because international treaties are incorporated into national law. Cecilia P. Grosman, Argentina-Children's Rights in Family Relationships: The Gulf Between Law and Social Reality, in CHILDREN'S RIGHTS: A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE, supra note 83, at 8. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in the European strategy for children, Recommendation 1286 (1996), has recommended that the Committee of Ministers strongly urge Council states "to guarantee, through explicit recognition in their constitutional texts or domestic law, children's civil and political rights, as well as their economic, social and cultural rights as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child." EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE, supra note 25, at 10. Russia stands in marked contrast; the Russian Constitution, adopted in 1993 after ratification of the Convention, makes no mention of children's rights. See Olga Khazova, The U.N Convention on the Rights of the Child and Russian Family Law, in CHILDREN'S RIGHTS: A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE, supra note 83, at 213 ("The new Russian Constitution, in particular, not only says nothing on children's rights, but hardly separates children as subjects of law."). 160. Progress Report 1995, supra note 137, 1 34. Some countries have chosen to establish ombudsmen for children to monitor compliance with the Convention. See Convention Watch Begins, in PROGRESS OF NATIONS, supra note 10, at 41 (reporting that since Convention came into force, Austria, Colombia, Costa Rica and Spain have designated ombudsmen). Other countries have set up municipal and local councils to monitor children's rights. See id. (listing different types of councils set up in Brazil, El Salvador, Nepal, Tunisia and Vietnam). Altogether, 25 countries have established some form of monitoring mechanism. Id. 29 Abraham: The Cry of the Children Published by Villanova University School of Law Digital Repository, 1996 VILLANOVA LAW REVIEW teaching about the Convention in schools. 161 Finally, the reports often highlight the importance of the work of non-governmental child advocacy organizations in promoting public awareness of the Convention and in helping to achieve implementation and