In 2014 the worldâs most widely ratified human rights treaty, one specifically for children, reached the milestone of its twenty-fifth anniversary. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and in the time since then it has entered a new century, reshaping laws, policies, institutions and practices across the globe, along with fundamental conceptions of who children are, their rights and entitlements, and societyâs duties and obligations to them.
Yet despite its rapid entry into force worldwide, there are concerns that the Convention remains a high-level paper treaty without the traction on the ground needed to address ever-continuing violations of childrenâs rights. This book, based on papers from the conference â25 Years CRCâ held by the Department of Child Law at Leiden University, draws together a rich collection of research and insight by academics, practitioners, NGOs and other specialists to reflect on the lessons of the past 25 years, take stock of how international rights find their way into childrenâs lives at the local level, and explore the frontiers of childrenâs rights for the 25 years ahead.
Prof. Dr Ton Liefaard holds the UNICEF Chair in Childrenâs Rights at Leiden Law School, Leiden University, the Netherlands. He is the programme director of the Masterâs Programme (LLM) Advanced Studies in International Childrenâs Rights.
Prof. Dr Julia Sloth-Nielsen holds the chair of Children's Rights in the Developing World at Leiden Law School, Leiden University, the Netherlands, and is a professor at the Faculty of Law, University of the Western Cape, South Africa.
This book has been developed in cooperation with the E.M Meijers Research Institute and Graduate School at Leiden Law School.