Developmental and Autonomy Rights of Children: Empowering Children, Caregivers and Communities (Maastricht Series in Human Rights) - Softcover

Willems, Jan C. M.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 9050957269 ISBN 13: 9789050957267

Publisher: Intersentia Publishers, 2007

Synopsis

On November 20, 1989, the United Nations unanimously adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Therefore, November 20 has become a date which signals the recognition by the international community that children have developmental and autonomy rights as essential benchmarks for children themselves and for those responsible for their well-being and healthy development. However, as long as society, through international cooperation, lacks serious investment in child development, the rights of all children - especially the rights of young children and children living in exceptionally difficult conditions - are soft rights only. The emancipation of the young child and the rehabilitation and emancipation of those who are deprived, exploited, abused, and neglected remain in a legal shadowland. This book explores this legal shadowland, introducing the concepts of the 'Trias pedagogica' and 'Transism,' in order to shed light on the obligations and responsibilities of states and other actors in the empowerment of children, caregivers, and communities.

About this title

About the Author

Jan CM Willems (1952) studied philosophy (Florida, USA; 1971-1972), law (Nijmegen, The Netherlands; 1972-1979), and psychology (Antwerp, Belgium; 1992-1995). He holds a law degree from Radboud University (international law and diplomatic history; 1979), and a PhD degree from Maastricht University (children&;s rights and child maltreatment; 1998). From 1980-1981, he worked at the Department of Public Law of Tilburg University. In 1981, he started work on the Committee to found a new law faculty at Maastricht University. During the Faculty&;s first two decades, he was teaching in the field of war and peace (history of international law, Hugo Grotius), and of racial discrimination (xenophobia and human rights). In the late eighties, he shifted his main field of research to the rights of women and the rights of the child in relation to child (sexual) abuse, neglect and exploitation. Presently, in addition to teaching human rights and rights of the child, he is conducting research on the joint responsibility of the state, parents and society in the upbringing of (young) children, with a special focus on the rights of newborn persons. Between 2002 and 2009 he was the first Dutch Chair holder on the International Rights of the Child at VU University Amsterdam. His expertise within the field of children&;s rights is transgenerational discrimination, or childism (denialism in relation to the failure of states to prevent ill-treatment of children at the hands of their parents or carers), and structural prevention of child maltreatment (integrated SMECC approach).

From the Back Cover

On November 20, 1989, the United Nations unanimously adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. November 20 has become a date which signals the recognition by the international community that children have developmental and autonomy rights as essential benchmarks for children themselves and for those responsible for their wellbeing and their healthy physical, emotional, social, moral and intellectual development.
However, as long as early child development, psychological recovery and social reintegration of traumatised and marginalised children and caregivers, preparation for parenthood, parenting education and parenting support, child-friendly community building, as well as international cooperation in all these fields are seriously lacking investment by society and the state, the developmental and autonomy rights of all children, and especially the rights of young children and children living in exceptionally difficult conditions, are soft rights only. The emancipation of the young child and the rehabilitation and emancipation of the deprived, exploited, abused and neglected child remain in a legal shadow land. This book intends to explore this shadow land. It introduces the concepts of the Trias pedagogica and Transism in order to shed light on the obligations and responsibilities of states and other actors in the empowerment of children, caregivers and communities. Its authors hope to serve the field of human rights and family and child studies, and all related fields.

Edition details

• Publisher: Intersentia Publishers
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9050957269
• ISBN 13: 9789050957267
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 212