Is the Un Convention on the Rights of the Child Universally Applicable?

TMA 02 – Option1

B2883024


Is the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) universally applicable?

This essay will look at the background to the UNCRC and how it is underpinned by a right’s based approach to childhood.   It will outline the types of rights that children are entitled to – the four P’s.   It will outline how the UNCRC works in theory.   It will look at successes and weaknesses of the UNCRC and in doing so it will decide whether it is universally acceptable.   It will show alternatives to the UNCRC and highlight the differences between the two.


Universal Human Rights have been discussed for more than two centuries.   The United Nations Declaration was codified in 1948 to prevent global war from re-occurring.   The UN Declaration claimed that human rights could not be separated from each other that they are indivisible and that they cannot be taken away as they are inalienable.   This leads to unease at the core of the legislation of rights as they are not universally applicable depending on the cultures where they are being adopted.   The UN Declaration ensured equal rights for all humans regardless of age. Children’s rights are connected to the protection of all human beings. While children may be too young to understand such rights, they have interests differing from adults that need to be protected. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1989.   It is an international treaty that recognises the human rights of children. It is set on the basis that the child is an individual, autonomous person with rights that must be protected by its parent and the state. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most ratified of all the United Nations Human Rights treaties. The treaty affirms and describes the fundamental human rights of all children - all human beings below the age of 18, and the governments that have ratified it have legally...