This in-depth text goes beyond the rhetoric of the debate on children’s rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in particular, to provide a detailed examination of the impact that U.S. ratification of the Convention would have on U.S. law. The chapters have been written by leading children’s advocates and scholars with a general audience in mind, as the authors believe that it is important for all Americans to become informed about the Convention and about children’s rights in general. With a greater understanding of the substance of the Convention and children’s rights, readers will be better positioned to determine what the real issues are, what is simply rhetoric without any basis in fact or law, and how they can address the real issues in an effective manner in order to provide a better world for all children.

The book is divided broadly-speaking into two sections. The first part of the book provides an introduction to the Convention, examines the key issues of debate with respect to U.S. ratification, and explores many of the overarching themes that arise in the context of U.S. consideration of the Convention, or any other international instrument for that matter. The remainder of the book is dedicated to more in-depth examinations of various provisions of the Convention, with a view to determining the impact of U.S. ratification of the Convention with respect to those issues in particular.

Published under the Transnational Publishers imprint.