The Necessity of the Conventions on the Rights of the Child: A Religious Point of View
Written by Tarunjit Singh Butalia
A Religious call to fight child poverty and marginalization in the US.
Prepared by the Secretariat of Religions for Peace – USA Presented by Tarunjit Singh Butalia, Ph.D., Moderator of Religions for Peace – USA at The Campaign for U.S. Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child National Symposium: The Convention on the Rights of the Child: Why It Is Time to Ratify Washington, DC June 1-2, 2009
According to the Children Rights Campaign: "1 in 5 children lives in poverty, 9 million children lack health insurance coverage, 1.4 million children experience homelessness during the year, 1 in 3 students in the 8th grade cannot read at grade level nor achieve basic competency in mathematics, [and] approximately 1,460 children will die this year from abuse and neglect-related causes." The United States’ ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which is an international human rights treaty for children, is urgently needed. Many religious communities, within the U.S, have acknowledged the importance of this treaty and have been voicing their support for its ratification.
The religious communities comprising Religions for Peace - USA have at their core a commitment to alleviating the suffering of the countless numbers of disadvantaged people around the world. Religions for Peace (International), our parent organization, has noted that "Every religious tradition emphasizes the beauty, sanctity, and value of the child, and religious people around the world have recognized the need to take immediate action in response to these great challenges. Together with governments, charities, and others, they are working to make the world a safer, more secure place for all our children."
Scriptures and other writings from the various religions of the world illuminate with enormous depth on the intrinsic need for children to be respected, nurtured, and recognized.
- According to theTattvarthasutra of Jainism, "Rendering help to another is the function of all human beings." (Tattvarthasutra 5.21)
- The Hadith (reports on the Prophet Muhammad’s sayings and actions) include this story:"A man once asked the Prophet what was the best thing in Islam, and the latter replied, ‘It is to feed the hungry and to give the greeting of peace both to those one knows and to those one does not know.’"(Hadith of Bukhari)
- In the Zohar, a work from Judaism’s mystical tradition, we read that "When the Holy One loves a man, He sends him a present in the shape of a poor man, so that he should perform some good deed to him, through the merit of which he may draw to himself a cord of grace." (Zohar, Genesis 104a)
- Hindu scriptures ask,"What sort of religion can it be without compassion? You need to show compassion to all living beings. Compassion is the root of all religious faiths." (Basavanna, Vacana 247)
- "Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young," we read in Christianity’s New Testament, "but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." (1 Timothy 4:12)
- According to one Native American tradition, "See to it that whoever enters your house obtains something to eat, however little you may have. Such food will be a source of death to you if you withhold it." (A Winnebago Father’s Precepts)
- >Buddhists are taught,"As a mother with her own life guards the life of her own child, let all-embracing thoughts for all that lives be thine." (Khuddaka Patha, Metta Sutta)
As the largest and most broadly-based representative multi-religious forum in the United States, Religions for Peace – USA seeks to examine the role of religious diversity in the US in order to promote justice and build community. Thus we note that a number of our member communities understand that they have a moral obligation to assist those in need in whatever way they can, as this basic tenet has been passed down to them through the generations. Due to their nature, children in particular are in need of additional protection, a point made clear in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Religious communities see not only the necessity but the value of protecting children's rights to allow them to grow up into healthy, ethical, and spiritual adults. They recognize that children are the future of their families, their respective faiths, and of humanity.
In 1993, the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions met in Chicago. Religious leaders, scholars, and theologians had spent two years drafting an initial interfaith declaration. Among the issues mentioned is a common belief in the importance of human and children's rights:
We condemn the social disarray of the nations; the disregard for justice which pushes citizens to the margin; the anarchy overtaking our communities; and the insane death of children from violence....We consider humankind our family. We must strive to be kind and generous. We must not live for ourselves alone, but should also serve others, never forgetting the children, the aged, the poor, the suffering, the disabled, the refugees, and the lonely. No person should ever be considered or treated as a second-class citizen, or be exploited in any way whatsoever.
It is a special task of religion to address social plight and seek to remedy it, both spiritually and practically (though of course these categories can be conflated). The major world religions (and no doubt others as well) emphasize the essential worth of humankind, and include scriptural and oral traditions that remind their followers to care specifically for those who are socially disadvantaged, including children. The Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC) is a network of religious communities dedicated specifically to protecting children’s rights and working to improve the lives of children worldwide. With representatives from all the major world religions, GNRC seeks to put the teachings of these religions into practice by securing for all children the rights of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. (http://www.gnrc.net/en/)
This effort has made us very much aware that children’s rights are a pertinent and ever-present issue for the U.S. The tendency of the U.S. to imagine itself as beyond many of the social crises and situations of depravity that plague other societies sometimes serves to veil the actual experiences of Americans, many of whom suffer from inequalities and impoverishment. With single mothers and children composing the majority of impoverished people in the country, the U.S. cannot afford to ignore the fact that inequality is systemic, rather than individually based, and that some people are disadvantaged by deep-seated social perceptions of their worth, capabilities, and potential. The rights of children are bound up in the rights of every human, irregardless of cultural, racial, ethnic, religious, socio-economic, or any other kind of grouping. By acknowledging that ALL children have the same rights, just as all people have the same rights, an implicit understanding that racial, cultural, religious, and socio-economic discrimination affects children profoundly must also be brought to the forefront. For example, in a 2006 white paper, RFP-USA observes that:
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The rate at which black children receive a sentence of life without parole is ten times higher than the rate at which white children receive the same sentence.
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33% of black children lived in families that were below the poverty line, compared to 29% of Hispanic children and 10% of White, non-Hispanic children.
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70% of Asian children aged 3-5 who were not yet in kindergarten were enrolled in some kind of early childhood care and education program, compared with 67% of black children, 43% of Hispanic children, and 59% of White, non-Hispanic children.
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21.2% of Hispanic children lacked health insurance, compared with 7% of black and multiracial children and 5.7% of white children."
Religions for Peace-USA has a longstanding and vested interest in the effort to protect the universal rights of children. In partnership with the US Fund for UNICEF, RFP-USA was integrally involved in major CRC events under the leadership of former Executive Directors Tony Kireopoulos and Bud Heckman. Furthermore, manyMember Communities of Religions for Peace - USA have actively sought to validate these rights through their participation in the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN), and as attendees of the UN Special Session of the General Assembly on Children (2002), in addition to their own efforts to promote equality and human rights. Several of our Member Communities have spoken eloquently about the Convention on the Rights of the Child.For example:
Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, along with Maryknoll Sisters International, have stated: "We work to raise awareness of the rights of children and the many ways that those rights are violated. We are deeply involved with the UN’s Special Session on Children, and work to counteract the movement of the religious right in opposition to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)."
The United Church of Christ stresses the effort to "intensify its longstanding commitment to economic and social justice through support of specific policies which help, empower, and sustain all children, particularly those children most in need. Children deserve the opportunity to uncover and nurture their gifts, to grow into their callings, to make appropriate contributions to their societies, to share in the abundance of the created world, and to command the resources to live life abundantly."
MAS Service Corps, a division of the Muslim American Society, has noted that, "Although America is the ‘Land of Plenty’, there is no lack of poverty, no shortage of people who are hungry. Recent reports show that one in five children in the US go to bed hungry, while the ranks of the poor continue to grow: single mothers, immigrants, the elderly, and the working poor. In 2005, it is estimated that more than 36 percent of those served by food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters were children. A universally compassionate faith, Islam teaches us that there is no distinction between a hungry Muslim or a hungry non-Muslim. A person who is suffering here in America is just as deserving as someone who is in distress elsewhere."
The United Methodist Church asserts that "Children’s rights are human rights. United Methodists worldwide must continue to urge their governments to implement the convention, and for the United States to ratify it."
While Religions for Peace – USA, as a collaboration of religious communities, does not take official positions on matters such as the call for the US to ratify the CRC, we do contend that any equity-minded discussion of human rights must naturally encompass the rights of children. The US must recognize that when it upholds the principles enshrined in the Human Rights charter it must simultaneously do the same with the CRC treaty; however, if it ignores the latter, then it’s status as serving as a role model to other nations will severely diminish. It must also recognize that there are absolutely no stipulations contained within the CRC treaty which could grant the United Nations authority over the policy-making decisions in the U.S and thus infringe on its sovereignty. Moreover, the representatives and senators in the U.S should not be limited to the opinions of certain interest groups who are against the CRC treaty, but should also be open to a wide range of multi-faith communities who are completely supportive of it. As observers of religious practices in the U.S, we realize that many traditions offer tremendous spiritual and instructional guidance on the treatment of children. Thus, we have included faith-based voices in order to ensure their presence in the on-going dialogue concerning equal rights for children. Furthermore, the religious communities remind us that we as a nation are not removed from many of the social ills that other countries experience, and it is our shared responsibility to urge the government to address children’s rights through the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
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Rev- Kalayna Sree
Mahamakut Buddhist University Isan Campus
Naimuang Sub-District
Muang District,
Khon Kaen Province 40000
Thailand