Children's Rights

Children's rights encompass civil and political as well as cultural, social, and economic terrain. Activism and research in the arena of children's rights puts forward key questions about children, childhood, and the state, and how we should think about children as not just recipients but also producers of culture. For example, should children's rights be about keeping children safe, or about ensuring their autonomy? Similarly, most documents addressing the rights of the child assume a certain philosophical position regarding the child; these include the assertion that the child is a full and complete person, but a potentially vulnerable one whose personhood is special and entitled to special protections.

Many organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the United Nations Children's Fund, recognize children's full personhood ...