Harmonization of Human Rights Law: Children’s Rights as a Case Study
The influence of international standards on regional constructs of human rights (and visa versa) are an important consideration for the bringing human rights home community. A forthcoming study by Aoife Nolan and Ursula Kilkelly examines the impact of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on regional human rights systems. As they report in Children’s Rights Under Regional Human Rights Law – A Tale of Harmonisation?, Nolan and Kilkelly find that the CRC has had an impact on children’s rights jurisprudence in the African, Inter-American, and European human rights systems. They write, “It is clear that the CRC has played a key and growing role in terms of shaping regional protection of children’s rights.” Importantly, they highlight that this cross-fertilization is not a one-way street, but that regional decisions influence positions taken by the Committee on the Rights of the Child. Their chapter will certainly be of interest to children’s rights scholars and advocates (as well as those focused on other human rights issues). It also indirectly answers two common questions in the debates around U.S. ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other treaties. First, the jurisprudence on the CRC shows that the doomsday scenarios often put forth by opponents of the CRC are not the claims that that human rights courts consider – in other words, U.S. ratification of the CRC is not to be feared. Second, if the U.S. wants to have a voice in the development of international law on the rights of the child, it needs to participate – in other words, ratification is in the interests of the U.S. Of course, there are other reasons for the U.S. to ratify the CRC – most notably, it offers a framework that can improve the lives and well-being of U.S. children. And as Nolan and Kilkelly’s chapter highlights, international and regional human rights jurisprudence provides valuable evidence relevant to efforts to advance human rights in the United States.