![handle is hein.journals/tranhurrv3 and id is 1 raw text is:
WHO WILL REMEMBER THE CHILDREN? THE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN
RIGHTS MOVEMENT AND JUVENILE JUSTICE IN AFRICA
FAISAL BHABHA* & CRISTINA CANDEA**
Abstract
Our goal in this paper is two-fold: we seek to evaluate the development of juvenile justice in
Africa by making use of a thorough and ethical method of analysis. We begin with a contextual
explanation of the children's rights movement as it has developed on the continent. We then
reframe David Kennedy's ten-item critique of the international human rights movement into
three broad categories. Using these categories, we evaluate the development of juvenile justice
in sub-Saharan Africa as it has arisen out of the children's rights movement.
I. NO INTERNATIONAL TREATY has been as universally lauded as the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 (the CRC).1 It is the most quickly adopted and
most widely ratified international human rights treaty in the history of the United Nations
(every country in the world, except for the United States, has ratified it2). The CRC creates the
impetus to require adults and the state to ensure the participation and protection of children in
private and public life. It also provides for their special treatment when children come into
conflict with the law.3 In many countries, the creation of separate juvenile justice laws and
institutions was justified by drawing on the recommendations of the CRC. While the CRC has
accomplished near universal agreement on the importance of children's rights, it has not been
fully implemented in all countries. Among other things, ratification requires that a country draft
and incorporate legislation that realizes the goals of the Convention. The push for this kind of
law reform can contribute to accomplishing many goals, but more law does not necessarily
mean more justice. In this article, we explore the ways in which the CRC has both driven and
* Associate Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, Toronto, Canada;
fbhabha@osgoode.yorku.ca
** Joint JD (Osgoode)/MA (Philosophy) student, York University, Toronto, Canada; cgcandea@gmail.com
1 Convention on the Rights of the Child, 20 November 1989, 1577 UNTS 3 (entered into force 2 September 1990)
[CRC].
2 Sarah Mehta, There's Only One Country That Hasn't Ratified the Convention on Children's Rights: US, (20
November 2015) American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) (blog), online: <www.aclu.org/blog/speak-
freely/theres-only-one-country-hasnt-ratified-convention-childrens-rights-us>.
' CRC, supra note 1, arts 37, 40.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/tranhurrv3&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
What Is HeinOnline?
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most