Petition to Protect Rights of Children

It is time for the U.S. to rat­ify the Con­ven­tion on the Rights of the Child

Draw­ing by Gilbert G. Groud

Urge Pres­i­dent Obama to send the Con­ven­tion on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to the United States Sen­ate for rat­i­fi­ca­tion.

The CRC sets the stan­dard for children’s wel­fare around the world. The United States played a major role in draft­ing the CRC. How­ever, the United States and Soma­lia are the only coun­tries that have not rat­i­fied the Con­ven­tion on the Rights of the Child. The United States signed the con­ven­tion in 1995, indi­cat­ing its sup­port and its inten­tion to pur­sue rat­i­fi­ca­tion, but that rat­i­fi­ca­tion has not occurred. Now is the time!

The U.S. Cam­paign on the CRC invites peo­ple com­mit­ted to the wel­fare of chil­dren to par­tic­i­pate in a peti­tion cam­paign ask­ing Pres­i­dent Obama to send the CRC to the Senate.

Because we affirm that all chil­dren are a gift of God, cre­ated by God and cre­ated good, Presbyterians—and Chris­tians of all backgrounds—have a strong tra­di­tion of con­cern and action for the rights and needs of chil­dren. We have expressed this in a vari­ety of min­istries and in advo­cacy in the pub­lic arena. This includes call­ing the United States Sen­ate to rat­ify the Con­ven­tion on the Rights of the Child.

Why should the United States rat­ify the CRC?
Around the world, the CRC serves as an impor­tant tool to pro­mote pro­tec­tions and rights for all chil­dren, par­tic­u­larly those who are made vul­ner­a­ble and mar­gin­al­ized. The fail­ure of the United States to rat­ify the CRC under­mines our inter­na­tional lead­er­ship role on behalf of children.

Rat­i­fy­ing the CRC will reaf­firm the his­toric com­mit­ment of the United States to the wel­fare of chil­dren around the world and in our coun­try. It will pro­vide a way to assess laws, poli­cies, and prac­tices in rela­tion to children’s rights and well­be­ing in the United States. It will allow the United States to have a more effec­tive voice in inter­na­tional orga­ni­za­tions and con­ver­sa­tions that address children’s rights.

The 202nd Gen­eral Assem­bly (1990) of the Pres­by­ter­ian Church (U.S.A.) called the United States to “take the action nec­es­sary for rat­i­fi­ca­tion of the con­ven­tion in a thor­ough and timely man­ner.” Almost twenty-two years have passed since Pres­by­te­ri­ans issued that call. It is time!

Then lit­tle chil­dren were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The dis­ci­ples spoke sternly to those who brought them; but Jesus said, ‘Let the lit­tle chil­dren come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the king­dom of heaven belongs.’ And he laid his hands on them and went on his way.
Matthew 19: 13–15

Read more about the Con­ven­tion and the Red Hands Campaign!

The Pres­by­ter­ian Min­istry at the United Nations rep­re­sents the Pres­by­ter­ian Church (U.S.A.) at the United Nations. Staff mem­bers help inspire, equip and con­nect Pres­by­te­ri­ans for min­istry as faith­ful dis­ci­ples of Jesus in the global com­mu­nity. The Pres­by­ter­ian Min­istry at the United Nations helps Pres­by­te­ri­ans wit­ness to the nations of the world, in the name of Jesus Christ, based on the poli­cies of the Pres­by­ter­ian Church (U.S.A.) Gen­eral Assem­blies to the United Nations. Mark Koenig is the Direc­tor of the Pres­by­ter­ian Min­istry at the UN.