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Laws, Conventions and Rights
Author(s) -
Freeman Michael
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
children and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.538
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1099-0860
pISSN - 0951-0605
DOI - 10.1111/j.1099-0860.1993.tb00281.x
Subject(s) - declaration , autonomy , convention on the rights of the child , empowerment , context (archaeology) , child rights , political science , human rights , law , welfare , convention , active listening , international human rights law , sociology , geography , communication , archaeology
SUMMARY. This article traces the developing recognition of children's rights, both at an international and national level. The UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959 and the UN Convention thirty years later provide a context within which a child's right to self‐determination and autonomy have gradually become more central. The tensions between listening to children's views and the welfare of the child are examined, in relation to the Children Act, and the case is made for the need to move beyond conventions towards empowerment.