Rights of

Children
 UN Convention on the Rights of Child :

a child means every human being below

the age of eighteen years unless under the
law applicable to the child, majority is
attained earlier.

This right is considered to be new. WHY???

In the 18th Century children were regarded
as chattels of the family and wards of the
State.

After the UN Convention on the Rights of

Child commissioners and administrative
bodies were set up to promote children’s
rights
Convention on the Rights of
the Child
 Adopted in 1989
 Consists of a Preamble and 54 Articles
 Attached with two protocols:
i) Optional Protocol to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child on the involvement of
children in armed conflict.
ii) Optional Protocol to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child on the sale of children,
child protection and child pornography
 This special convention is needed
because people under 18 years old have
special needs, particularly for care and
protection which adults do not need and
this would ensure that the world
recognises that children have human
rights too.
 Problem is that member states may make
reservations, hence diluting the
effectiveness.
Aims of the Convention
 4Ps :
 Prevention- healthcare(A.29),
abduction(A.11)
 Protection- torture, inhumane or
degrading treatment(A.42)
 Provision – to enable education(A.28),
social security (A.29)
 Participation- information(A.17) ,
expression (A.13)
Enforcement of Children’s
Rights
 Stipulated in Art.4, 42 and 44 para 6
 Art 4- duty on State Parties to undertake
all necessary measures for
theimplementation mechanism in similar
to that of other United Nations human
rights treaties.
 Art 44- all States are to submit regular
reports to the Committee on hot the rights
are being implemented.
 Afterratification- must send ratification.
There after, must submit periodic reports
at five-year intervals.

 Additionalinfo will be received from UN

org(s) and other NGOs
General Measures(GM) of
Implementation
 Forms part of the general obligation of
Member States. GMs identified include:
-law reform
-comprehensive national plans and strategies
-children’s commissioners and ombudsmen
-allocation of resources
-awareness, education and training
-participation of civil society, including
participation of children
-monitoring situation of child rights
Main Areas of Concern
 1) Violence, abuse and neglect
Art.19 obliges States to protect children from “all
forms of physical or mental violence, injury or
abuse, neglect or negligent treatment,
maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual
abuse” while in the care of parents, guardians or
other persons responsible for their care.
Art.39 right to rehabilitation following neglect,
exploitation or abuse (lack of laws for
rehabilitation?, social service adequate??)
 2) Juvenile Justice
 -Involvement in crime should not deter their rights to
be treated as children
 Less danger to the society( as compared to adults)
 Amendable through edu and trainings.
 There is a need for a specially designed form of trial
for children
 Art.40recognizes the right of every child, alleged,
accused of, or recognised as having infringed the
penal law to be treated in a manner consistent with
the promotion of the child’s dignity and worth.
 International laws or regulations to protect young
prisoner have existed for a long time:
 1955 Standard Min Rules fro the Treatment of
Prisoners-custodial facilities( separated from adults)
 ICCPR- Art 6 p.5 prohibits death penalty
 ICCPR- Art 14 p. 4 Court/Procedure shall
take into account their age and
desirability of promoting their
rehabilitation
 Some documents( non-binding) which
are available to regulate this field:

 UN Standard Min Rules for the

Administration of Juvenile Justice 1985
 UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles
Deprived of their Liberty (1990)
 UN Guidelines for the Prevention of
Juvenile Delinquency 1990
 Refroms needed < punitive
 Problems often arise when juveniles are in
conflict with the law.
 International norms should be used as a
guide
 3)Children and Armed Conflict
 Art 38- prohibits the recruitment of
children under the age of 15
 Art 39- Rights to physical, psychological
and social assistance(victims of armed
conflict)
 Optional Protocol to the Convention:
Obliges states to abstain from compulsory
recruitment of any persons under 18; to establish
a minimum age for voluntary recruitment of any
persons under 18; to estb a minimum age for
voluntary recruitment above 15 yo, prevent
participation of persons under 18.
Some countries actually recruit children below
18(eg: Africa)
Malaysia
 Ratifiedthe CRC in 1995
 Submitted its first report in 2007
 While the Government has lifted some of
these reservations, others remain namely to
CRC:

 § Article 2 on non-discrimination (gender,

race)

 § Article 7 on name and nationality

(stateless/no identity
§Article 14 on freedom of thought,
conscience and religion (follows parents)

§Article 28(1)(a) on free and compulsory

education at primary level (stateless?)

§ Article 37 on torture and deprivation of

liberty (criminal law- corporal punishment)
Malaysia:Legal Framework
 Child Act 2001- promote and protect
environment.
 Ambit- all children below 18yo who are
entitled to right of care, protection and
rehabilitation.
 Other issues: sexual exploitation,
trafficking and abandonment.
 Evidence of Child Witness Act 2007:
 Create more child-friendly methods, such
as giving evid through video recording for
child victims and child witnesses in
criminal cases
 Anti –Trafficking in Persons Act 2007
provides a clear legislative for trafficked
children.
 Eg: Immunity from criminal prosecution for
unlawfully being in the country and
possessing fraudulent travel documents
are examples of legal protection
accorded to trafficked persons.
 Persons with Disabilities Act 2008-to improve
condition of people (including children) with
disability
 Widows and Orphans Pension Act 1915 (Revised-
2007) and the Child Care Centre(amendment) Act
2007- improve administrative matters involving
children. Eg:
Increasing the categories of child care centres , the
duration and the need for public display of licence to
operate such centres rather than on the promotion
and delivery of quality child care, especially the estb
of minimum standards to ensure the best interest of
child
 Childrenand Young Persons
(Employment) Act 1966- stringent
conditions for the regulation of working
children
Malaysia: General Issues
Concerned
 i) corporal punishment
-incompatible with CRC.
Permitted as a disciplinary measure for
children charged with criminal offences and
in schools.
 ii) undocumented children
 - their survival, protection and development
are severely jeopardized due tp their status
 Art 7-all persons have a right to acquire
nationality at birth
 Msia does not grant nationality by birth.
 One parent must be Malaysian to apply.
 Amendment of law to compel registration-
BUT Illegal migrants fear deportation??
 iii)
Right to Participation
Limitation
-Societies Act 1966- allows members below
21 but committee, trustee, secretary,
manager or treasurer must be above 16.
-To deicide their own religion
-protection for victims, witness- media may
expose their identity- no strong
enforcement
-Custodial Matters- may get views from
children, but methods is questionable.
 Thereshould be expressed provisions to
include participation of children in
decisions affecting them in schools, family
and other institutions
 Iv)Duality in legal system –civil and
shariah
Reference
 Human Rights Law: International,
Malaysian and Islamic Perspective, 2012,
Sweet and Maxwell (pg.197-220)