Part II: Depriving Children of Their Human Rights

Kelsey Hayden continues her discussion of Florida’s failure to comply with Human Rights conventions in their treatment of children in the criminal justice system.

International human rights law dictates that juveniles are entitled to special measures of protection because of their age and developmental stage. Although the United States has not ratified the American Convention on Human Rights or the Convention on the Rights of the Child (“CRC”), the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (“IACHR”) has emphasized that “member States, [such as the United States], that have not yet ratified the American Convention are just as bound by the corpus juris on children’s rights.” Thus, administration of juvenile justice within the United States must be guided by not only international human rights instruments that the United States has ratified, but by the general international body of law on children’s rights, even those instruments that it has not yet ratified. Notably, because the CRC has been ratified by most other countries, the U.S. remains an outlier having only signed and not ratified the instrument.

These international frameworks exist to ensure that juveniles are afforded the specific protections to which they are entitled, in all aspects of life, including the criminal justice system. Examples of human rights instruments delineating these protections include treaties to which the U.S. is a party, such as the ICCPR, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (“CERD”), the Convention against Torture (“CAT”), and the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man (“American Declaration”) as well as instruments that the U.S. has not ratified, such as the American Convention on Human Rights and the CRC. Human rights organs—including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Committee—examine alleged violations of some of these instruments and monitor the compliance of member States.

Despite the federal system of government in the U.S., the United States is obligated to ensure that all its states are in compliance with relevant international human rights law. While some states have made efforts to ensure that domestic laws comply with international standards on juvenile justice, there is still often a disparity between the language of the law and the reality that juveniles accused of violating the law encounter in the justice system. Florida is one state that consistently falls short.

The UNHRC expressed its opinion that far-reaching legal reforms are needed to adapt member States’—including the United States—domestic laws to international human rights norms on juvenile justice. Many organizations are working hard on the ground to find ways to engage with the U.S. government and ensure that Florida, the rest of the states, and the federal government all comply with these norms on juvenile justice. It is with measured optimism that we hope that soon the whole of the United States—including all of its states and territories—are fully in compliance with these international obligations, and that all juveniles will be treated fairly and with full respect for the special protections they deserve, especially when facing the loss of their liberty.