And then there were two...
by Mark Engman, Director Public Policy and Advocacy
In January, as the world entered into the 26th year of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Somalia became the 195th UN Member state to ratify the Convention, setting a course to improve the lives of its youngest citizens.
Somalia signed the CRC in 2002, but years of instability and conflict prevented further action. Finally, the Somali Parliament overwhelmingly approved ratification of the CRC on December 13, 2014, paving the way for Somalia to finally join the world’s most widely accepted human rights treaty.
Somalia’s accession to the CRC leaves only two holdouts: South Sudan, currently embroiled in civil war; and the United States.
The Clinton Administration signed the CRC in February 1995, signaling the U.S. Government’s intent to proceed with ratification. The next step in the process is for the Administration to send the treaty to the U.S. Senate, with a set of interpretations and explanations, so the Senate can give its “advice and consent.” So far, that step remains unfulfilled.
The CRC is more than just a statement that children are not possessions or servants, but human beings with rights; it is a tool that has helped improve children’s lives over the past 25 years.
The U.S. Fund for UNICEF and its partners in the CRC Campaign are pushing the Obama Administration to do its part, and send the treaty to the Senate. It’s the right thing to do for our Nation and for the world’s children.
