Seen and Heard? Children's Participation Rights and Corporate Responsibility

Scholars in the fields of sociology, child development and human rights have focused on conceptualizations of children as well as the shift from viewing children as mere adjuncts to adults to distinct rights-holders. Researchers in the fields of business and management studies explore the interplay of business responsibility and society in general. What remains relatively unexplored in either literature is the nexus of business and the human rights of children. In particular, children’s participation rights remain largely ignored. People living with poverty at any age often cite a lack of agency and participation as one of the more onerous aspects of deprivation. The paper suggests that when policies and programs for which the poor are targeted do not include their meaningful participation, the same loss of control and dignity occurs once more. This holds as true for corporate social responsibility initiatives as any other poverty alleviation effort. The research assumes it is the role of States and NGOs to foster a climate of participation that avoids objectifying children and instead views them as rights-holders. The research questions how well the participation rights of children are accounted for in business in view of the fact that the CRC is the world's most widely ratified human rights instrument. The paper highlights the potential offered by recent efforts from the Committee on the Rights of the Child through General Comment 16 as well as the new Children's Rights and Business Principles to meaningfully engage children. It concludes, however, with a call to move from well-intentioned but ad hoc measures to mainstreaming children's participation rights in all interactions within the realm of business, particularly in this early stage when getting rights right is critical.