Waiting for Children’s Rights Theory

Abstract

In this article we argue that what is missing in children’s rights studies is not so much the presence of theories, but rather reflections and discussions about the normative relevance, analytical qualities and explanatory powers of the mobilised theories. We consider theorisations in children’s rights, first, on the normative level, where there is a need to continue reflecting about the moral and legal rights children have and/or should have, and about how these rights can be further exercised, or need to be balanced against one another. Next, we look at the analytical merits of the concept intersectionality to consider simultaneously differences and similarities between children’s rights and other categories of fundamental rights, as well as to reflect on the very categories that are employed. We then discuss empirical implications of globalisation processes, that have significantly impacted on how children’s rights are taking shape in the world, and how interconnections between local and global spheres shape imaginations, discourses, normative frameworks, policies and programmes in the field of children’s rights.

Children’s Privacy in Lockdown: Intersections between Privacy, Participation and Protection Rights in a Pandemic

“…143 Hanson and Peleg reiterate the 'need to continue reflecting about the moral and legal rights children have and/or should have, and about how these rights can be further exercised, or need to be balanced against one another'. 144 This paper demonstrated the ways in which protecting the privacy of children during the pandemic is linked to and enables the provision of education and play in such a way that risks from potential exploitation (commercial or otherwise) are more effectively mitigated. In this sense, we endorse the CRC Committee's view that '[p]rivacy is vital to children's agency, dignity and safety and for the exercise of their rights' and thus that states should ensure that digital products and services for education and play are subject to robust data protection and privacy standards.…”

The ethics of infant and early childhood mental health practice

“…Rights have been the subject of rigorous cultural critique (e.g., Brown, 1997; Donnelly, 1984), as in many non‐Western cultures, the concept of rights, let alone children's rights, is a foreign one that has been introduced by global powers. Indeed, the children's rights movement has been characterized as a manifestation of cultural imperialism (Faulkner & Nyamutata, 2020; Hanson & Peleg, 2020; Reynaert et al., 2009). In this vein, the promulgation of infant rights has drawn pointed criticism from cultural anthropologists who warn that the universal basic needs of infants, which form the basis of arguments for the existence of infant rights, are not as universal as they are asserted to be.…”

Child Soldiers and Peace Agreements

“…191 Rejecting the binary universalism and cultural relativism stalemate, many point instead to the opportunities associated with the implementation of children's rights in ways that are context sensitive, locally owned and bottom-up. 192 The concept of living rights, as articulated by Hanson and Nieuwenhuys, for instance, suggests that the meaning, interpretation and practice of children's rights constitute a living, dynamic process. They suggest that translation involves a mutual exchange of ideas which 'sustains reflexivity and can make the active reproduction of meaning more explicit and open to debate'.…”