NHELD does
not believe in fear mongering. NHELD
believes in the distribution of facts so that individuals can formulate their
own opinion. Through this bulletin and
the two which will follow, NHELD hopes to distribute facts about the United
Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child.
NHELD also offers its opinion in this bulletin about the possible
effects of
Did You Know? The
How does the current treaty, the United Nations
Convention…., affect federal and state law?
We strongly
suggest that you read all of the provisions of the Convention on the Child in
its entirety. To do so, you can go to the following: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm
To review every provision
in that document would be too cumbersome.
Therefore, we have chosen a few provisions as examples. Again, keep in
mind when the treaty talks about the “State”, it means the “nation”, or in our
case, the federal government. Our opinion or questions will be posed immediately
following each provision:
“The States Parties to the present
Convention …Considering that the child
should be fully prepared to live an individual life in society, and brought up in the spirit of the ideals
proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations… Have agreed as follows:
Comment: A thorough review of the Charter
of the United Nations is warranted for a complete understanding of the “spirit and ideals
proclaimed”. A signatory of this treaty
would be compelled to bring up the child in accordance with these ideals. Federal laws could be adopted to implement
this provision.
Article 3, section 1: …In all actions
concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare
institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies,
the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration…
Comment: The treaty does not
specify according to whom the “best interests” of the child will be
determined. This could be problematical
if the “best interests” are determined by a committee, for example, made up of
members of countries antithetical to the culture and values of this country.
Article 4…Parties shall undertake all appropriate
legislative, administrative, and other measures for the implementation of the
rights recognized in the present Convention…
Comment: Again, this is a
mandatory directive that our legislation must implement the rights recognized
by the Convention. We, the people, would
have no legislative or judicial recourse to the imposition of such laws. The only argument that could be made is that
the treaty, and thus, those laws do not comport with our Constitution.
Article 9, Section 1…States Parties shall ensure that a child
shall not be separated from his or her parents against their will, except when
competent authorities subject to judicial review determine, in accordance with
applicable law and procedures, that such separation is necessary for the best
interests of the child…
Comment: The treaty does not specify who the
“competent authorities” are. Are they
“authorities” in another country? Who
determines their competency? What
recourse does anyone have if they are not competent? What recourse does anyone have to appeal such
a decision?
Article 9, Section 2… all interested parties shall be given an
opportunity to participate in the proceedings and make their views known…
Comment: How are the parties
to “make their views known”? It is not
specified. To whom are the parties to
make their views known? It is not
specified. Is the opportunity to make
their views known after the decision is made, before it is made, or during the
proceeding in which it is made? It is
not specified. What, if anything, is the decision maker required to do after
hearing the “views” of the parties? It
is not specified. What recourse is there if the decision maker refuses to hear
the “views” of the parties? It is not
specified.
Article 13, Section 1… The child shall have the right to freedom
of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in
writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of the
child's choice….
Comment: There is no provision in this section for
parental regulation of the child’s “freedom of expression” or “freedom to seek,
receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds”. Is the parent powerless to filter information
that the parent deems inappropriate for the child? Is the parent subject to arrest or other
sanctions such as loss of custody of the child if the parent attempts to
regulate the appropriateness of the information received or imparted by the
child? It is not specified.
Article 14, Section 3…Freedom to manifest one's religion or
beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and
are necessary to protect public safety, order, health or morals, or the
fundamental rights and freedoms of others….
Comment: Can the United Nations or a committee
composed of members of nations antithetical to a member of this country’s
religious beliefs limit the religious freedom of the child in the name of
maintaining “public order” or some other possible excuse? Is this provision contrary to the Constitution’s
First Amendment provision for freedom of religion? Who is the final arbiter to decide? Are the
limitations to be prescribed by international law, United Nations law, or
Article
17… Parties recognize the important
function performed by the mass media and shall ensure that the child has access
to information and material from a diversity of national and international
sources, especially those aimed at the promotion of his or her social,
spiritual and moral well-being and physical and mental health. To this end,
States Parties shall:
(a) Encourage the mass media to disseminate information and material of
social and cultural benefit to the child and in accordance with the spirit of article 29;
(b) Encourage international co-operation in the production, exchange and
dissemination of such information and material from a diversity of cultural,
national and international sources;
(c) Encourage the production and dissemination of children's books…
Comment: What if parents do not want to have their
children utilize information and material from international sources, but want
to utilize information and material primarily from their own country’s
sources? What, if any, sanctions do
parents face? Do they face imprisonment
or loss of custody of the child simply because their opinion differs from the
United Nations? It is not specified.
Article
18, Section 1…Parents or, as the case
may be, legal guardians, have the primary responsibility for the upbringing and
development of the child. The best interests of the child will be their basic
concern.
Comment: Again, the question is: the best interests
according to whom? In addition, who
oversees whether the parents are undertaking their “responsibility”? What, if any, are the sanctions for parents
who disagree with “authorities” as to what the “best interests of the child”
are? What recourse do the parents have to appeal any adverse decisions? It is not specified.
Article 18, Section 2… For the purpose of guaranteeing and
promoting the rights set forth in the present Convention, States Parties shall
render appropriate assistance to parents and legal guardians in the performance
of their child-rearing responsibilities and shall ensure the development of
institutions, facilities and services for the care of children.
Comment: What is the definition of “appropriate
assistance”? Who determines what is
“appropriate”? What recourse do parents
have if they disagree about the “appropriateness”? What is the definition of
“child-rearing responsibilities”? Who
determines what that definition is? Do
parents have any say in determining what that definition is or what their own
“child rearing responsibilities” are?
What sanctions do parents face for failing to undertake their “child
rearing responsibilities”, whether intentionally or unintentionally? Does it make any difference for the purposes
of sanctions that the parents did not intend to disregard their “child-rearing
responsibilities”? What if the parents
were unaware that they had particular “child rearing responsibilities” in
accordance with treaty provisions? Do
they get a second chance or do they lose custody of their children or face some
other sanction for inadvertent mistakes? Are parents ever entitled to legal
assistance in any part of the treaty when accused of failing to uphold any of
its provisions? Are parents entitled to due process of law or any rights
guaranteed under our Constitution? It is
not specified.
Article 19, Section 1… States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative,
social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical
or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment,
maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of
parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child.
Comment: What is the definition of “all appropriate
legislative, administrative, social and educational measures? Who defines it? Do parents have any say in defining it? What rights do parents have under the
legislative, administrative, social and educational measures? Are parents afforded due process and other
rights in accordance with our Constitution?
Are the children afforded due process and other rights in accordance
with our Constitution? What are the sanctions?
Is loss of custody a sanction? If
so, is it a temporary loss of custody or a permanent loss of custody? Is there any provision to appeal any
decision? It is not specified.
Article 19, Section 2…Such protective measures should, as
appropriate, include effective procedures for the establishment of social
programmes to provide necessary support for the child and for those who have
the care of the child, as well as for other forms of prevention and for
identification, reporting, referral, investigation, treatment and follow-up of
instances of child maltreatment described heretofore, and, as appropriate, for
judicial involvement.
Comment: What are the “social programmes”? Do they include mental health screenings? Do they include forced medication? Who deems
these “programmes” as “necessary”? Are
the parents afforded the full protection of their rights under our Constitution
before these “social programmes” are “established”? What are the “other forms of
prevention”? Who determines what those
forms are? How are children “identified”, “reported”, “referred”,
“investigated”, and “treated” and by whom? Do parents have any rights regarding
such identification, reporting, referral, investigation, and treatment? Are those rights afforded by our Constitution
or by United Nations or foreign law? What is “maltreatment” and who defines
it? What recourse do parents have if
they disagree with any of these “programmes”? What rights to parents have to
appeal any decisions about these “programmes”?
It is not specified.
Article 20, Section 3… Such care could include, inter alia,
foster placement, kafalah of Islamic law, adoption or if necessary placement in
suitable institutions for the care of children.
Comment: Do the parents have
any say in the “placement” of the child?
What recourse to parents have if they disagree with the
“placement”? What is the procedure used
to determine whether “placement” is necessary?
Is it done in a court of law with all rights afforded to the parents
under our Constitution, or does a United Nations bureaucrat get to decide? What is the appellate process, if any?
Article
28, Section 1… Parties recognize the
right of the child to education, and with a view to achieving this right
progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular:
(a) Make primary education compulsory and available free to all…
Comment: This, of course, is one of the most controversial topics for our purposes. What is the “right of the child to
education”? What kind of “education”
does the treaty mean? It would appear
that the treaty refers to government education.
The treaty specifically states that the “parties” “shall” “make primary
education compulsory”. What is “primary
education”, how is it provided, by whom is it provided, and how is its
“compulsory” nature implemented? The
treaty does not specify. Primary education could mean many things. It could mean what we think of as K-12
education. Then, again, it could mean
education in “primary” issues, subjects, causes, etc. Who deems it
compulsory? Is it compulsory in
accordance with the United Nations? Is
it compulsory according to national law?
Is it compulsory according to state law?
It is not specified. Because
primary education is “compulsory”, does that mean that parents cannot instruct
their own children at home? It is not
specified.
(e) Take measures to
encourage regular attendance at schools and the reduction of drop-out rates…
Comment: What “measures” are
required to be “taken”? What constitutes
“encouragement” as opposed to “coercion”?
What if parents reject the “encouragement” in favor of instruction of
the children at home? Will the parents
be subject to sanctions? If so, what are
the sanctions? Who is in charge of the “encouragement” and who is in charge of
enforcing such “encouragement”? What is
the definition of a “drop-out”? Is a “drop-out” someone who homeschools? How are the “drop-out” rates to be
“reduced”? Are they to be “reduced” by
compulsion? It is not specified.
Article 28, Section 3… Parties shall promote and encourage
international cooperation in matters relating to education, in particular with
a view to contributing to the elimination of ignorance and illiteracy
throughout the world and facilitating access to scientific and technical
knowledge and modern teaching methods.
Comment: What is
“international cooperation in matters relating to education”? Does that mean that another country may
interfere with a parent’s right to homeschool in this country? May the two countries “cooperate” to sanction
a parent for homeschooling? It is not
specified. Who defines
“encouragement”? Again, does
“encouragement” include “coercion”? Does the “elimination of illiteracy”
include the “elimination of illiteracy” that currently exists in our public
schools? How will “parties” “contribute”
to this? It is not specified.
Article
29, Section 1… States Parties agree that
the education of the child shall be directed to:
(a) The development of
the child's personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their
fullest potential;
(b) The development of
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and for the principles
enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations;
Comment: This may be most problematical.
By this treaty, “parties” agree that the “education” of the child shall
be directed “for the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations.” Many may agree with those
“principles”, but what if parents don’t agree with them? What if parents want to direct the education
of their children to the principles of the country of their choice? Who will enforce this provision? How will it be enforced? What rights, if any, to parents have to
disagree with the enforcement? Do
parents face sanctions for directing the education of their children in
accordance with the principles of their choice?
If so, what are they? Do parents have due process and other rights under
our Constitution? What is the appellate
process? It is not specified.
Article 29, Section 2…No part of the present article or article
28 shall be construed so as to interfere with the liberty of individuals and
bodies to establish and direct educational institutions, subject always to the
observance of the principle set forth in paragraph 1 of the present article and
to the requirements that the education given in such institutions shall conform
to such minimum standards as may be laid down by the State.
Comment: So, in other words, the “liberty of
individuals and bodies to establish and direct educational institutions” is not
supposed to be interfered with, but only if those individuals and bodies are
“observing” the “principle set forth in paragraph 1”, the principle that the education
is to be directed “for the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations.” It would appear clear that if
those individuals and bodies are not establishing and directing educational
institutions for the principles” enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations”, they could be “interfered with”, although it is not specified how
that “interference” would occur. Also, it appears that even that limited
restraint on interference does not apply to individuals and bodies who
establish and direct the education of their own children, as opposed to
“institutions”. How much interference
and of what kind would parents be subject to for directing the education of
their own children when not observing the principles “enshrined in the Charter
of the United Nations”? It is not
specified.
Article
32, Section 1…1. States Parties
recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and
from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with
the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical,
mental, spiritual, moral or social development….
Article 32, Section 2… a) Provide for a minimum age or minimum
ages for admission to employment;
(b) Provide for appropriate regulation of the hours and
conditions of employment;
(c) Provide for appropriate penalties or other sanctions to
ensure the effective enforcement of the present article.
Comment: Would the United Nations provisions supplant
currently existing state laws regarding the kind of work and the hours of work
in which children being homeschooled could be employed? Who is in charge of enforcement? Who decides what the penalties will be? What recourse do parents have if they
disagree? It is not specified.
Article 40, Section 2…(a)
No child shall be alleged as, be accused
of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law by reason of acts or
omissions that were not prohibited by national or international law at the time
they were committed…
Comment: Does this mean that in order for a child to
be held accountable for breaking a law, the act of the child must have been
prohibited by national or international law at the time it was committed? What if the child breaks a state law? Would the child not be responsible? Would the parents be responsible? It does not specify.
Article
41… Nothing in the present Convention
shall affect any provisions which are more conducive to the realization of the
rights of the child and which may be contained in:
(a) The law of a State party; or
(b) International law in force for that State.
Comment: Again, keep in mind that when the United
Nations talks about the “State”, it is talking about a nation, federal
government. In other words, this
provision says that this treaty does not affect any provisions that are more
conducive to the rights of the child if those provisions are contained in a
federal law or in an international law. One could reasonably infer, then, that
the treaty does affect provisions that are not more conducive to the rights of
the child.
Article
43… there shall be established a Committee
on the Rights of the Child, which shall carry out the functions hereinafter
provided.
Article 43, Section 8…The Committee shall establish its own rules
of procedure.
Comment: What are the rules of procedure? By what process will the rules of procedure
be adopted? Will there be any public
input into the rules? Will there be any
ability for the rules to be amended? It is not specified.
Article 44, Section 1…. States Parties undertake to submit to the
Committee, through the Secretary-General of the United Nations, reports on the
measures they have adopted which give effect to the rights recognized herein
and on the progress made on the enjoyment of those rights…
Comment: Under this
provision, nations will “report” to the United Nations on the “measures” they
have adopted to implement this treaty and on the “progress” they have made in
the “enjoyment” of those rights. For
what purpose? Does the nation have to
adopt specific “measures” or else face sanctions? Does the nation have to
achieve some specific “progress” or else face sanctions? What are the sanctions? Who imposes the
sanctions? Do countries that have
adopted fewer “measures” and made less “progress” get to determine the
“progress” of another nation and to impose sanctions for not achieving such
“progress”? It is not specified.
Article 44, Section 4… The Committee may request from States
Parties further information relevant to the implementation of the Convention….
Comment: What kind of “further information” might be
required? To whom is it given? For what
purposes is it given? It is not
specified.
Article 44, Section
6…States Parties shall make their
reports widely available to the public in their own countries…
Comment: What information will be contained in the
reports? Will personal information about
families be contained in them? Is there
any provision to delete personal information from those reports? Is there any provision for families to refuse
consent to release personal information to the public in those reports? It is not specified.
Article 51, Section 2…2.
A reservation incompatible with the
object and purpose of the present Convention shall not be permitted.
Comment: This provision means that even if a country
has “reservations” about a particular part of the treaty, although it can
present those “reservations” to the United Nations, a “reservation” that is not
compatible with the “object and purpose” of the treaty “shall not be
permitted.” It would appear that a party
can only present “reservations” that abide by treaty provisions. Does this mean
that all parties are required to comply no matter what? It is not specified.
NHELD opposes this treaty as it is written. It leaves too many questions unanswered, it
invites more federal regulation, and that federal regulation may supersede
parental rights under state law.
Under
the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, each nation may adopt
national laws implementing its provisions. How those national or federal laws
affect parents will become more apparent in time. Already, there is controversy in the European
Union regarding this treaty. It has
affected the rights of parents to homeschool in
and
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51484
Will Congress adopt laws
to implement the treaty that will affect our right to homeschool in this
country? That remains to be seen.
The
time may come when a parent disagrees with a provision in this treaty, and the
issue comes before a court. How will the court decide? Will the court decide the treaty’s provision
does not comport with the Constitution and, therefore, the parent will prevail
under state law? Maybe. Maybe not. That also remains to be seen.
At
the moment, just understand that while the President has entered into this
treaty, the Senate has not yet ratified it.
NHELD has a
lot of questions about this treaty; you may have a lot of questions about it as
well. More importantly, the Senate should have a lot of questions about this
treaty. Perhaps the Senate does. Perhaps that is why the Senate has not yet
ratified it. Whatever
your opinion is about this treaty, your Senators need to hear from you !
It is
extremely important for every American to become informed and to remain
informed. It is also extremely important
for each of us, after formulating our opinion about issues such as this, to
engage in a dialogue with our representatives in government. In this case, it is important to engage in
such dialogue with our Senators and their aides. It is likely that you will have more access
to their aides than to the Senators.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that the Senators will not get your
message. The aides have the Senators’
ears in more ways than one. They not
only could pass on your written message to the Senator, but also they could
inform the Senator when action on this or another issue comes up that there are
constituents in the Senator’s district that feel strongly about the issue such
that he should weigh the facts heavily before voting.
One website
that you can use to contact your Congressional Representatives is at http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/ Senators can be contacted through
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
If not for
your sake, for your children’s sake and for their children’s sake, we encourage
everyone to take the time to become
informed and to ask questions of your Senators, to make your opinion known, and
to make your voice count.
Once a
treaty or a law is adopted, if you decide you disagree with it, it is much more
difficult to get it repealed.
Unfortunately,
this treaty is not the only “law” that the federal government could enact that
may affect your rights as parents or that may affect your rights under state
law.
There are
other federal initiatives that may affect your rights under state law that are
currently underway. We recommend that you take a look at all of them and decide
for yourself what you agree with and what, if anything, you want to do about
them.
Some of
them are the following:
Charter of the Organization of American States
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/iachr/oascharter.html
NAFTA
http://www.mac.doc.gov/nafta/naftatext.html
CAFTA
http://www.export.gov/fta/complete/CAFTA/index.asp?dName=CAFTA
NHELD
suggests that all treaties, agreements, and conventions are extremely
troublesome when they create new “regional” or “international” government
structures that eviscerate the United States Constitution. In addition to being concerned about the U.N.
Convention on the Rights of the Child, NHELD suggests reading about the
Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America that was signed by
President George Bush in 2005. Please keep in mind and refer to the United
Nations’ definitions of “treaty”, “agreement”, and “convention” while reading
about any international “agreement”. Of
particular concern in this international “agreement” are references to
“regulatory cooperation”, “ensure compatibility of regulations”, “expanding
partnerships in higher education, science and technology”. While the ideas may be laudable, the
practical and legal effect of “regulatory cooperation” regarding a “treaty” or
international “agreement” may be the eradication of Constitutional protections
and state laws already in existence.
You can
read about the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America at the
government’s websites:
http://www.spp.gov/factsheet.asp
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/03/20050323-2.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/03/20050323-3.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/06/20050627-2.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/03/20050323-1.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/03/20060331-1.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/03/20060331.html
http://ostpxweb.dot.gov/S-3/sppcover.htm
http://www.pi.energy.gov/naewg.html
The most
important thing is to become informed, and to remain informed. Then let your representatives in government
at the local, state, and federal levels know your opinion. Don’t let them adopt new laws without making
them understand the impact they will have on your lives and the lives of your
children.
Attorney
Deborah Stevenson - Executive Director of National Home Education Legal Defense.
– www.nheld.com or email : info@nheld.com
Judy Aron -
Director of Research, NHELD – imjfaron@sbcglobal.net