The Rights of Children in the United States

[Sethomas]

When I visited the UN on a weird program in 2000, the document we focused on was the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. All the speakers I heard ranted about how retarded the US congress was to not sign-in the most widely-ratified document in human history. As the congress believed, this was to not force parents to surrender their child-rearing to the UN.

USA! USA! USA!

[Abcdxxxx]

"The U.S. is the only United Nations member-state except Somalia that has neglected to ratify the UN's 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. "


Give me a fucking break.

Who gives a fuck if this kind of thing is ratified, when it's obviously absolutely meaningless to a long list of the countries who did. It's a fucking joke. The UN is a joke. By nature of being a US citizen, children have more rights then most, but for what it's worth, the US has indicated it will sign. Hopefully they'll only ratify it in part, as Canada did.

Look, I don't want the State to infringe on my rights by raising my kid up to some global standards anymore then I want then to tell me what to eat or who I can fuck. On the surface, mandatory rights for children sounds great....but children are still dying in Sudan without UN action, and boys are still being sold as camel jockeys in progressive UAE... and the list of nations using children as combatants in various wars is too long to name.

Check this bullshit from article 17 of the convention:
"States Parties recognize the important function performed by the mass media and shall ensure that the child has access to information and material from a diversity of national and international sources, especially those aimed at the promotion of his or her social, spiritual and moral well-being and physical and mental health"

Then this scary one in Article 5, 6, and 14:

"States Parties shall respect the responsibilities, rights and duties of parents or, where applicable, the members of the extended family or community as provided for by local custom, legal guardians or other persons legally responsible for the child, to provide, in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child, appropriate direction and guidance in the exercise by the child of the rights recognized in the present Convention."
[....]
"2. States Parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child. "

[....]
"3. Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health or morals, or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others. "

[derrida]

How is that scary? I expected you were gonna object to something about banning homeschooling or something, but all of those provisions are already fulfilled by our current system.