Rights of the Child

25 Years After the Adoption of the UN Convention

This work reviews the progress of children’s rights 25 years since the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It studies the progress of that human rights instrument as part of an ongoing process. It examines how recent past, present and future generations will benefit or suffer as part of the process in which outcomes cannot be predicted. It does not project into the future. Its emphasis is on a review of the period after 1989 and it comments on what has happened and offering guidance on how children's rights might progress.

The book presents a realistic but not always critical review of two and a half decades of intensive activity in the field of children’s rights worldwide. It includes both failures and examples of good practice and positive experiences. It offers a review of progress and lack of progress in child rights and welfare in the twelve countries used as case studies in its predecessor, The Next Generation. Finally, the volume considers the impact of current geopolitical and economic realities on children’s rights in the early years of the twenty-first century. The book is a tribute to Judith Ennew and pays homage to all of the people who have contributed so much to children’s rights over the years and wishes to encourage others to take up the cause.