Abstract There is a growing interest in standardised, child-reported tools to foster more research on children’s right to participation. To support this goal, our study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Hungarian version of the Child and Adolescent Participation in Decision Making Questionnaire (CAP-DMQ). A total of 373 adolescents aged 14 to 17 (74.8% girls) completed the survey package. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the scale’s unidimensional structure. The network model revealed the central role of the sense of involvement and opportunities to weigh alternatives, suggesting that providing children with space to express themselves is crucial for their participation. Positive associations between CAP-DMQ and well-being, quality of life and positive parenting perceived by adolescents, along with a negative correlation with negative parenting, underscore the scale’s potential to explore factors affecting children’s participation and its relationship with developmental outcomes. While the CAP-DMQ can facilitate interdisciplinary, basic and applied research, further validation is needed.
Abstract Building on calls to decolonise children’s rights, this article presents a conceptual exercise that explores how children’s human rights would look when anchored on the Baganda worldview of Obuntubulamu. In this article, we use Barreto’s (2018). “Decolonial Thinking and the Quest for Decolonising Human Rights.” Asian Journal of Social Science 46 (4/5): 484–502 three-folded decolonial approach to human rights, involving 1) taking a critical stance toward Eurocentric thinking, 2) retrieving concepts that evolved in the colonised world to think about human rights otherwise, and 3) establishing a dialogue between these two debates to move beyond colonial suppression of alternative ontologies. Purposively selected Baganda proverbs are used to open a critical exploration of a more relational, interdependent, eco-centric and holistic approach to thinking about children’s rights and welfare, expanding conversations on child rights thinking in ways that demonstrate how Indigenous ontologies may both complement, extend and challenge the codified human rights of children.
Abstract Although participation theory and ‘evolving capacities’ frameworks enrich children’s rights discourse, they retain developmental hierarchies that defer meaningful rights until capacities emerge, obscuring children’s present entitlement to dignity, agency and culture. In particular, scholarship on Article 5 and Article 12 frequently preserves an adult–child hierarchy that positions childhood as preparation for adult citizenship rather than recognising children as bearers of present dignity. Janusz Korczak’s pedagogy offers a radical alternative: unconditional children’s rights grounded not in future potential but in present being. Through analysis of Korczak’s inversion of developmental hierarchies, his democratic institutions that realised genuine power-sharing and his insistence on children’s rights to cultural expression even in extremis, this article demonstrates how Korczak both shaped and exceeded contemporary children’s rights frameworks. Korczak’s philosophy challenges scholars to confront the extent to which prevailing commitments to children’s rights remain compromised by future-oriented instrumentalism that treats childhood as means rather than end.
Climate change drives internal displacement in Nigeria, severely impacting children's rights. This article examines the legal and human rights challenges faced by displaced children, critically evaluating Nigeria's response through international, regional and domestic legal frameworks. It analyses key instruments, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), and Nigerian laws such as the Child Rights Act (CRA) and Climate Change Act 2021(CCA). The study identifies substantial enforcement and accountability gaps that undermine protections for these vulnerable children. Grounded in intergenerational equity, the best interests of the child, and a domestic (intra-Nigerian) conception of climate justice, the analysis advocates a rights-based, child-centered approach. The article concludes with specific policy and legal recommendations to strengthen safeguards for children affected by climate-induced displacement, emphasising the urgent need to protect future generations.
Notwithstanding robust international legislative frameworks underpinning the prohibition of child soldiering, the number of at-risk girls and boys continues to grow, with girl soldiering remaining a particularly neglected area. Through a secondary data analysis, this article critically analyses some of the key contributing factors and consequences of girl soldiering in Africa as well as prevention and response measures. Analysis is theoretically grounded in Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory and a child rights-based approach. The findings point towards a complex interplay of various elements within and across different system levels engaging multiple actors, where girls' rights to participation are often pushed aside. It is argued that for the complexities of girl soldiering to be better addressed, an effective operationalization of a systems approach is needed. To this end, an Ecological Systems Model of Prevention and Response Measures to Girl Soldiering, where communities and girls' voices are of central importance, is proposed.
Despite support from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), children's actual influence on welfare policy remains inconsistent. This study investigates why children's collective participation (CCP) failed in Swedish policy development for prevention, despite organisational openings, obligations, and opportunities. The policy development involved health care, social work, preschools, schools, and the police in an initiative inspired by the Scottish policy, "Getting it Right for Every Child" (GIRFEC). Through qualitative analysis of meeting observations, documents, and key informant interviews, we provide an empirical example of how child rights governance can manifest in complex welfare policy development efforts. We identify broadly applicable mechanisms at national, regional, and local levels that hinder CCP in such contexts. The conclusions focus on management approaches to address these mechanisms and anticipated challenges, based on a holistic understanding of child rights and critical reflection to effectively promote children's rights and children's collective participation.
This article explores if and how Global South States' reporting under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child can be strengthened in response to the climate crisis. The article examines the guidance from the Committee on the Rights of the Child on climate change regarding obligations in two areas: international assistance and cooperation, and the child's rights to be heard in the development of climate-related policies. The article then reviews Global South States' periodic reports and related communications with the Committee in these areas. The article concludes that (1) periodic reporting under the Convention provides an as-yet underutilised opportunity for Global South States to articulate their urgent needs for international assistance and cooperation in the climate crisis, and that (2) wider response to climate change and build children's capacity to lead on these issues in coming years.
This article highlights the urgent need to consider children's human rights in the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) at global, regional and domestic levels. It emphasises the importance of raising awareness about how AI impacts children and their rights. AI is increasingly integrated into children's daily activities, from learning and playing to interacting with state services like healthcare, social welfare and criminal justice. There are significant concerns about AI's effects on fundamental rights such as privacy and freedom of expression, legal interests like intellectual property, and broader societal values such as creativity and empathy. Despite substantial efforts to regulate AI globally, there are notable gaps in addressing the most intrusive forms of AI, particularly regarding children's human rights. The article argues that regulations centred on children's human rights would effectively mitigate AI-related risks for children, while allowing for innovation with appropriate safeguards and prioritising the child's best interests. It advocates for a regulatory approach that involves children's participation and considers their evolving capacities, rather than relying on protectionist and paternalistic methods.
Children's right to be heard and to participate in decisions affecting them is enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC 1989) and is incorporated into Norwegian legislation. The aim of this study was to explore the approaches used by Norwegian Educational-Psychological Services (EPS) to ensure children's right to participation. We conducted a reflexive thematic analysis of 28 transcribed interviews with EPS counsellors, drawing on Lipsky's theory of street-level bureaucracy to guide our interpretation. The participating counsellors reported the use of both direct engagement and indirect representation via proxies, although limited reflection on the risks of this approach was observed. While the EPS counsellors demonstrated a commitment to children's participation, clearer procedural frameworks and targeted training are needed to balance discretionary practices with structured approaches. Strengthening these mechanisms would help ensure that children's participation is both meaningful and consistently integrated into professional decision-making.
The debate on the best way ethically to assess age in unaccompanied migrant adolescents, particularly for access to child protection in the realm of migration management, is decades old but still relevant. As such, innovative ways to provide an accurate result with forensic methods includes the use of AI for the generation of upto-date, extensive databases that can more objectively compare radiographic images. In this article, we reflect on old and new approaches in age assessment. We consider the large margin of error in using biological age as a proxy for chronological age and the motivation of using age as a filter for access to child protection. We conclude that forensic methods are a way to organise entry into (or exclusion from) protection systems, but cannot be considered-on their own-methods that maintain the best interests of the child.
Corruption of children's minds by political regimes with ideology and war propaganda was widely condemned after the Second World War, the experience of which catalysed the creation of safeguards against such malpractices within relevant human rights treaties. However, currently, this practice is being reinvented in the Russian Federation, which uses a mnemonic narrative about the "Great Patriotic War deeds" promoted among children and youth in the course of history education. The article investigates the interconnection between freedom of thought and education, alongside the child's right to autonomy and evolving capacities and the role of memory laws in establishing and instilling certain mnemonic narratives. The argument made is that the right to freedom of thought is closely interconnected with the right to education, and misuse of history, amplified by relevant punitive legislation, would be contrary to both provisions. That could potentially raise claims under the ICCPR, ICESR and CRC.
This article analyses the emergence of children's rights as a field of political rationalities in contemporary Chile, focusing on the parliamentary debate of Law No. 21,430 on the Guarantees and Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents (2022). Based on the Foucauldian notion of governmentality and the viewpoint of Critical Children's Rights Studies, it examines how the ideas of protection, autonomy and parental authority are constructed and contested within the legislative process. In a genealogical documentary study, three dimensions are analysed: objects of intervention, models of subject and power relations, and forms of legitimation. The results show that tutelary, neoliberal and rights-based rationalities coexist in the debate.
Child sexual abuse and exploitation are very harmful, causing a range of effects on victims. This is exacerbated by the consequences of new technology, which has transformed the kinds of improper conduct that lead to child sexual abuse. This article evaluates Ghana's Criminal Offences Act to determine whether it is adequately equipped to address child sexual abuse and exploitation. It reveals that since the early 1960s, the Act has not evolved to address emerging forms of sexual exploitation against children, and existing offences, such as rape and defilement, retain a narrower scope than necessary. Thus, it recommends that traditional sexual offences, particularly rape and defilement, be stripped of their antiquated descriptions, rendered gender-neutral and made more punitive to deter sexual predators. Drawing from other Commonwealth countries, the article proposes the creation of new offences address child pornography, child grooming, child sex tourism and the commercial sexual exploitation of children.
Notwithstanding that the rights of human beings are guaranteed in various national and international human rights instruments, the wellbeing and health of children with albinism is threatened, when they are subjected to stigmatisation, discrimination and harmful practices. Their situation is worsened due to the difficulties they encounter in obtaining reliefs when their rights have been violated. This study examines the albinism condition and the barriers frequently encountered by victims of human rights violations in a bid to obtain reliefs for the wrongs done to them. The results indicate that barriers encountered by children with albinism in accessing justice include legislative gaps, judicial gaps, knowledge and skill gap, financial difficulties and issues with physical accessibility. Specific measures must be employed by relevant authorities to address these barriers so that children with albinism are not excluded from accessing justice in Nigeria.
In recent years, Sweden has made efforts to strengthen children's rights and participation in social work, especially in relation to open care services. This article explores children's opportunities to participate in the process of transitioning from child welfare investigations to open care services, with a focus on children's own experiences of participation in decisions relating to and in the planning and realization of their open care interventions. The study is based on interviews with children aged 11- 17 years, all of whom had recently started an open care intervention. Our findings indicate that children experience various transitions associated with different preconditions for their participation. Lack of information about the different interventions was a common experience of the children in this study, and we conclude that children's right to information needs to be strengthened and that different strategies for participation need to be developed depending on the type of transition.
Despite legal protections against early marriage under international, African and Ethiopian laws, many children's rights, especially in Ethiopia's Afar Region, remain vulnerable. This study assesses national and subnational legal frameworks, highlights gaps in addressing child marriage, and evaluates the performance and limitations of child protection institutions responsible for enforcing these rights. Both Doctrinal and Qualitative research methodologies were employed to conduct this study. The study found that legal and institutional gaps contributed to the prevalence of child marriage in the Afar region. The legal lacunae comprise the absence of a regional family code regulating child marriage, the Criminal Code's failure effectively to punish perpetrators and key facilitators of child marriage, and its gender insensitiveness. The institutional shortcomings are associated with the failure of the police and the Attorney General to investigate and prosecute child marriage, the absence of a common understanding, strategies and plan of action against early marriage, and the prevalence of weak synergy amongst relevant agencies. This article calls for legal reforms, bold strategies against the practice, and coordination and collaboration among mandated institutions to protect children from early marriage in the Afar region.
More than 35 years after landmark debates on cultural relativism and universal children's rights shaped the most widely ratified international treaty-the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child-gaps persist in understanding how cultural norms influence children's participation, a cornerstone of their rights. Especially lacking are studies examining children's own views on participatory opportunities available to them in diverse modern societies. This study used secondary data from two large international assessments-the International Survey on Children's Well-Being (2016- 2019) and the World Values Survey (2017-2019) to examine participation patterns among 10-year-old children across 18 diverse countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and South America (N = 23,805, 50.8% female). Multinomial regression analyses revealed that exemplary participation patterns (e.g., Respected and Engaged, Family Sup-ported groups) were associated with societies' greater valuation of children's au-tonomy and lesser reliance on traditional values in all examined societies. However, the predictive power of societies' adherence to self-expressive values was more nu-anced, where a negative association emerged for children in the Family-Supported participation profile: higher societal adherence to self-expressive values was associ-ated with a lower likelihood that children reported feeling supported and listened to within their families. These findings are discussed in the context of academic and policy debates on cultural approaches to improving children's participation oppor-tunities and the role of culture in promoting and monitoring the right to participation.
The 1980 Hague Abduction Convention seeks to regulate a parent's removal of their child to another country without the other parent's consent. This article critically examines the Hague Convention, arguing that it operates as a tool of global mobility control comparable to international refugee law. By labelling the parents who remove their children (often mothers fleeing domestic violence) as wrongdoers, the Convention erases their vulnerability and sidelines the children's safety. In contrast, international refugee law, despite denying protection to some lawbreakers, centres on recognising vulnerability and upholding the principle of non-refoulement. When these legal frameworks apply simultaneously, the Hague Convention's repatriation mechanism often overrides asylum claims, producing what I term "Hagued refugees". The article further shows how both legal frameworks enable states to weaponise the language of family reunification to legitimise deportations. Ultimately, the Convention transforms potential victims into perpetrators, disregarding protection needs under the guise of child welfare.
Abstract This article examines the online “manosphere” as an under-theorised site of harm in contemporary childhood, focusing on its influence on boys under 18. While policy debates increasingly acknowledge online misogyny, child law scholarship has largely overlooked its implications for boys’ rights. Drawing on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, particularly General Comment No. 25 (2021), the article argues that algorithmically amplified digital masculinities pose systemic risks to boys’ rights to equality, development, participation, and protection from mental and moral harm. Using an interdisciplinary methodology combining doctrinal analysis with insights from sociology, media studies, and developmental psychology, it conceptualises the manosphere as a structural environment of gender socialisation rather than a fringe subculture. The article exposes a normative gap in prevailing CRC interpretations and concludes by reframing boys as present rights-holders harmed by dominant digital masculinities, advancing proportionate, child-centred principles for rights-respecting digital governance in algorithmically mediated childhood contexts.
A qualitative direct content analysis is used to explore how Article 29 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), is embedded into the national educational policy of five countries (Iceland, Ireland, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland) by how it is addressed in their respective Initial Teacher Education (ITE) curriculum. The study analysed documents at the national, programme and course levels. Findings from this cross-country comparison suggest the five aims of Article 29 are addressed to varying degrees but all to an extent that fails to do justice to the legal and moral commitment required of parties to the CRC. With this study, we argue that the responsibility to fulfil the legal obligations for the aims of education should be addressed at the structural and institutional levels in national and university guidelines.
