Human rights and childhood: building the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1978-1989)

Between 1978 and 1989, the United Nations held a debate aimed at producing a treaty for the child and youth population. This paper analyzes the document that systematized these discussions, produced by the non-governmental organization Save the Children, which addresses the Convention on the Rights of the Child, entitled Legislative history of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The debates that gave rise to Articles 1 and 2 are discussed, pillars in the process of building the “universal child,” from the perspective of Human Rights. The definition of beginning and end of childhood from an international public law viewpoint and the guarantee of legal equality for girls and boys marked the debate on Article 1. In turn, the debates on Article 2 were guided by the themes of guaranteeing rights for the offspring outside legal marriages and for international migrant children.

Keywords:
Childhood; Human Rights; Convention on the Rights of the Child