The Decolonisation of Children's Rights and the Colonial Contours of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

Faulkner, Elizabeth A.; Nyamutata, Conrad

Abstract

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2020. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (uncrc) 1989 has been celebrated for its universal acceptance. However, questions still arise around its provenance and representation. In particular, the Convention is deemed to enshrine Western notions of childhood upon which its rights were constructed. However, the legacy of the colonial contours of the new world order are often excluded within the context of children's rights. It has been suggested that the new imperialism brandished under the guise of "children's rights" serves as an effective tool to "beat" the Global South, deflecting from the continued Western dominance within the field of children's rights. This paper interrogates the power dynamics and colonial legacy upon which views of children are formed, centralising the multitude of issues in the arena of children's rights in the wake of what can be identified as Hokusai's wave.1.

Citation

Faulkner, E. A., & Nyamutata, C. (2020). The Decolonisation of Children's Rights and the Colonial Contours of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. International Journal of Children's Rights, 28(1), 66-88. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718182-02801009

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 1, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Mar 10, 2020
• Publication Date: 2020-03
• Deposit Date: Mar 13, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 16, 2020
• Journal: International Journal of Children's Rights
• Print ISSN: 0927-5568
• Electronic ISSN: 1571-8182
• Publisher: Brill Academic Publishers
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 28
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 66-88
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15718182-02801009
• Keywords: children’s rights; decolonising; colonial; international law; UNCRC
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3469510
• Publisher URL: https://brill.com/view/journals/chil/28/1/article-p66_66.xml?body=contentSummary-35539