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.42 This links rights (primarily economic rights asopposed to rights regarding marriage and procreation, free association, andreligious preference) to the responsibilities and relationships of adults.Concerns about rights language in regard to children, similar to those ex-pressed by the Hafens, and recognition of the limits of proclamations such asthe United Nations CRC also characterize church teaching.43 If the once pa-ternalistic approach to care for those in need is replaced by a more conflictualmodel of rights, without strengthening the ability of the powerless to advancetheir own interests, then the promise of rights seems hollow and the richlanguage of rights is reduced to mere rhetoric.44 As Christine Gudorf pointsout, This suspicion of rights language can be assumed to be especially strongin the case of children s rights due to the greater powerlessness of children tocare for themselves. 45Rights language about children seems to come more easily when the mag-isterium enters the abortion debate.The right of the unborn to life trumpsall other claims and fetal freedom from direct abortion takes priority overall other rights of children as well as those of the parents. 46 Asserting therights of children as they grow to maturity seems a more complicated mat-ter.Unlike the arguments advanced in the debates about abortion, when itcomes to children s rights, a good deal more control and authority ought tobe exercised by parents. Children s Rights and Family Values 61As was mentioned earlier, the Convention on the Rights of the Child has en-joyed widespread support, and is, at least in principle, more readily acceptedthan other claims about universal human rights.Perhaps this is due to ageneral consensus about children s vulnerability and a concern to get beyondthe rhetoric and longstanding disagreements when the lives and well-beingof children are at stake.Commenting on the widespread activism in GreatBritain, Hugh Cunningham notes, To be engaged in the rescue of children.was in a sense to raise yourself above politics. 47 Who would deny thatchildren are owed the very best we have to offer?That is not to say that the CRC and the focus on children s rights have notfaced some justifiable criticism.The advantages of being able to recognize thehuman dignity of children and the protections that are their due are under-mined by an overly individualistic understanding of human rights.This indi-vidualistic emphasis is not the intention of the UN Convention on the Rightsof the Child, which thinks of children in the context of the family, but notonly in that context.Family members, including children, can transcend in asense, the bounds of the family.Children are social beings and thrive in thecontext of a secure network of relationships that include but are not limited tofamilies.Building connections with others outside of the family can be equallyimportant for children s development, especially in circumstances where thefamily does not work toward the well-being of all of its members.Engagementin schools, churches, and community organizations provides means for suchconnection and participation in society.The extent to which families oughtto be able to exercise control over children is limited.While the language of rights, as it unfolds in the United Nations Conven-tion on the Rights of the Child, is not antithetical to a critical role for familiesin the lives of children, it is certainly the case that this analysis seeks to drawattention more closely to children s human dignity as unique individuals whocan make claims on the wider community and who continue to grow in theability to take on increased responsibilities.Children therefore should havea voice in decisions that affect their lives, and in many ways it is difficult tothink of any public policy decisions which do not impact the lives of children.Decisions made on their behalf ought to provide increased opportunity forchildren to exercise some self-determination.This is not only the challengingtask of parenting, but also of public policy as well.Children s Rights and Empowerment in the Case of Child LaborChild labor has in recent years been perhaps the most visible issue generatingdiscussion about how children s rights are to be defined and observed in an eraof globalization [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.42 This links rights (primarily economic rights asopposed to rights regarding marriage and procreation, free association, andreligious preference) to the responsibilities and relationships of adults.Concerns about rights language in regard to children, similar to those ex-pressed by the Hafens, and recognition of the limits of proclamations such asthe United Nations CRC also characterize church teaching.43 If the once pa-ternalistic approach to care for those in need is replaced by a more conflictualmodel of rights, without strengthening the ability of the powerless to advancetheir own interests, then the promise of rights seems hollow and the richlanguage of rights is reduced to mere rhetoric.44 As Christine Gudorf pointsout, This suspicion of rights language can be assumed to be especially strongin the case of children s rights due to the greater powerlessness of children tocare for themselves. 45Rights language about children seems to come more easily when the mag-isterium enters the abortion debate.The right of the unborn to life trumpsall other claims and fetal freedom from direct abortion takes priority overall other rights of children as well as those of the parents. 46 Asserting therights of children as they grow to maturity seems a more complicated mat-ter.Unlike the arguments advanced in the debates about abortion, when itcomes to children s rights, a good deal more control and authority ought tobe exercised by parents. Children s Rights and Family Values 61As was mentioned earlier, the Convention on the Rights of the Child has en-joyed widespread support, and is, at least in principle, more readily acceptedthan other claims about universal human rights.Perhaps this is due to ageneral consensus about children s vulnerability and a concern to get beyondthe rhetoric and longstanding disagreements when the lives and well-beingof children are at stake.Commenting on the widespread activism in GreatBritain, Hugh Cunningham notes, To be engaged in the rescue of children.was in a sense to raise yourself above politics. 47 Who would deny thatchildren are owed the very best we have to offer?That is not to say that the CRC and the focus on children s rights have notfaced some justifiable criticism.The advantages of being able to recognize thehuman dignity of children and the protections that are their due are under-mined by an overly individualistic understanding of human rights.This indi-vidualistic emphasis is not the intention of the UN Convention on the Rightsof the Child, which thinks of children in the context of the family, but notonly in that context.Family members, including children, can transcend in asense, the bounds of the family.Children are social beings and thrive in thecontext of a secure network of relationships that include but are not limited tofamilies.Building connections with others outside of the family can be equallyimportant for children s development, especially in circumstances where thefamily does not work toward the well-being of all of its members.Engagementin schools, churches, and community organizations provides means for suchconnection and participation in society.The extent to which families oughtto be able to exercise control over children is limited.While the language of rights, as it unfolds in the United Nations Conven-tion on the Rights of the Child, is not antithetical to a critical role for familiesin the lives of children, it is certainly the case that this analysis seeks to drawattention more closely to children s human dignity as unique individuals whocan make claims on the wider community and who continue to grow in theability to take on increased responsibilities.Children therefore should havea voice in decisions that affect their lives, and in many ways it is difficult tothink of any public policy decisions which do not impact the lives of children.Decisions made on their behalf ought to provide increased opportunity forchildren to exercise some self-determination.This is not only the challengingtask of parenting, but also of public policy as well.Children s Rights and Empowerment in the Case of Child LaborChild labor has in recent years been perhaps the most visible issue generatingdiscussion about how children s rights are to be defined and observed in an eraof globalization [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]