The United States Congress On The Rights Of The Child (...

The United States’ Senate should ratify the United Nation’s human rights treaty, The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The CRC is the most widely ratified human rights treaty with over 193 states parties ratifying it (unicef.org). The CRC was adopted by the UN General Assembly on November 20th, 1989 and promotes the rights of children worldwide (childrightscampaign.org). The treaty recognizes that children have certain unalienable rights. These rights are to develop physically, mentally, and socially to their fullest potential (ohchr.org). These rights also include the ability to express their opinions freely and to participate in decisions affecting their future (ohchr.org). Ultimately, these rights are to be granted to all†¦show more content†¦Protecting State Sovereignty The concern of the US government being undermined by a UN committee should be nonexistent. The United States’ Supreme Court’s decision in 1957 ruled that no internat ional law could override the country’s Constitution (oyez.org). After the case, Reid v Court, Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black stated The United States is entirely a creature of the Constitution. Its power and authority have no other source...When the Government reaches out to punish a citizen who is abroad, the shield which the Bill of Rights and other parts of the Constitution provide to protect his life and liberty should not be stripped away just because he happens to be in another land. This decision results in the CRC not having any overriding power to the rights given and protected by the Constitution. The United States’ executive branch also gave its signature of approval and support of the CRC in 1995 (Bova 174). In sum, the United States government would still be in complete control of its laws and citizens. Although, states that have ratified the treaty are required to to report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child every five years, the United States has been doing so since 2003 when it ratified the two aforementioned explicit protocols of the CRC. Neither the CRC committee nor the