Week 3, Blog #1 Youth and Human Rights

Children's rights date back as early as pre-19th century when poor children in early settlements were legally bound into apprenticeship work positions for long periods of their childhood.  Necessities such as food, clothing and shelter were provided for them in exchange for labor. Early 1900's facilities designed to offer aid to needy or orphaned children often were themselves places of neglect and abuse.  By the end of the 19th century, large numbers of American children worked in mines, factories, agriculture, in canneries, etc.  Labor laws did not exist and children became easy targets for labor manipulation. In the timeline we are reviewing in Wikipedia, the issue of children's rights were progressively addressed  but under such titles as Labor Laws and social work, not specifically addressing the broader, complete scope of children's rights.

In the 1980's the U.S. was a leader in the development of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, (CRC).  The CRC was adopted by the United Nations in November, 1989 and was signed be the Unites States in 1994.  Rights were established under the CRC establishing equal standards of health care, education, protection along with civil, political, social and economic rights for all children, in a hope of eliminating the exploitation of poor children in America and abroad.

In order for this change to be recognized world wide, Governments need to be held accountable and a the CRC needs to be ratified.  To date, the Act has been signed by every country in the world and ratified by all countries, but two.  According to Wikipedia, the United States has failed to ratify the CRC because by enacting it into law,the U.S. government is unsure how it would affect criminal sentencing of 16-17 year olds, who may be tried as adults in the U.S. court system.

Works Cited:

Film: The State of the World's Children  http://www.unicef.org/rightsite/sowc/index.php

https://myasucourses.asu.edu/@@/8F6123470306AA13434EA8F60CAB3D8A/courses/1/2011Summer5W1-X-JUS477-41555-47001/content/_5276949_1/SOWC_SpecEd_CRC_ExecutiveSummary_EN_091009.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Timeline_of_young_people%27s_rights_in_the_United_States&oldid=290549375