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December 10 marks the anniversary of the signing in 1948 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Since that time there have been a number of conventions attached, including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified in Canada in early 2010.
In 1989 Canada signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. In two books Katherine Covell and R. Brian Howe discuss how Canada has (or, more accurately, has not) kept their commitments to our nation’s children, reminding us that the obligation does not end with the signing but continues through ratification and implementation of recommendations into policy and practice.
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A Question of Commitment: Children’s Rights in CanadaR. Brian Howe and Katherine Covell, editors Studies in Childhood and Family in Canada “Each chapter provides not only an evaluation of Canada’s commitment but also an interpretation of how the standards articulated in the CRC [United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child] might be applied to particular areas of policy and practice…. It should be noted that the book contains a copy of the CRC, allowing for convenient consideration of the specific articles and wording referred to by chapter authors… [The book] demonstrates how rights-based policy and practice with children is complicated by issues of family privace, historical precedent, cultural differences, government organization, and economic conditions.” — Megan Nordquest Schwallie, University of Chicago, Ethics and Social Welfare |
The Challenge of Children’s Rights for CanadaKatherine Covell and R. Brian Howe Studies in Childhood and Family in Canada Shortlisted for the 2001 Canadian Policy Research Outstanding Research Contribution Award “Covell and Howe present a comprehensive, well-researched critique of Canada’s implementation of the UN Convention. They highlight the consequences of not recognizing, and making allowances for children’s rights. They use statistical and anecdotal evidence to directly link many prevalent social problems to the current state of children’s rights….This illumination of the problems, accompanied by a strategy for change, makes this book both timely and necessary.” — Dan Kolenick, Saskatchewan Law Review |
