Developmental and Autonomy Rights of Children

On November 20, 1989, the United Nations unanimously adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. November 20 has become a date which signals the recognition by the international community that children have developmental and autonomy rights as essential benchmarks for children themselves and for those responsible for their wellbeing and their healthy physical, emotional, social, moral and intellectual development.

Jan CM Willems (1952) studied philosophy (Florida, USA; 1971-1972), law (Nijmegen, The Netherlands; 1972-1979), and psychology (Antwerp, Belgium; 1992-1995). He holds a law degree from Radboud University (international law and diplomatic history; 1979), and a PhD degree from Maastricht University (children’s rights and child maltreatment; 1998). From 1980-1981, he worked at the Department of Public Law of Tilburg University. In 1981, he started work on the Committee to found a new law faculty at Maastricht University. During the Faculty’s first two decades, he was teaching in the field of war and peace (history of international law, Hugo Grotius), and of racial discrimination (xenophobia and human rights). In the late eighties, he shifted his main field of research to the rights of women and the rights of the child in relation to child (sexual) abuse, neglect and exploitation. Presently, in addition to teaching human rights and rights of the child, he is conducting research on the joint responsibility of the state, parents and society in the upbringing of (young) children, with a special focus on the rights of newborn persons. Between 2002 and 2009 he was the first Dutch Chair holder on the International Rights of the Child at VU University Amsterdam. His expertise within the field of children’s rights is transgenerational discrimination, or childism (denialism in relation to the failure of states to prevent ill-treatment of children at the hands of their parents or carers), and structural prevention of child maltreatment (integrated SMECC approach).

Foreword	p. v
Notes on Contributors	p. vii
List of Abbreviations	p. xiii
Preface	p. xv
Abstracts of Chapters	p. xxi
Children's Rights Are Human Rights; Current Issues and Developments	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
From Dependence to Emancipation	p. 2
Identity, Nationality, Name and Family Relations	p. 4
Children Living in Particularly Difficult Conditions	p. 5
An International Right of Petition for Children?	p. 7
Children's Rights and Universality	p. 11
Inclusive Universality	p. 11
From a Descriptive to a Normative Concept of Universality	p. 12
Correcting Distortions	p. 12
Flexibility and Transformation	p. 13
International Children's Rights: Accommodating Children's Particularities to Promote the Universality of Human Rights	p. 14
Changing the Image of Children	p. 15
Four Types of Interests	p. 15
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child	p. 16
Protectionism Prevails	p. 17
Development rights	p. 18
Autonomy rights	p. 18
Trias Pedagogica	p. 20
From Flexibility to Transformation?	p. 21
The Universal Child? Accommodating Diversity Within International Children's Rights	p. 23
Cultural Diversity	p. 24
Expressions of cultural pluralism in the text of the CRC	p. 26
Elastic language: the best interests of the child	p. 29
Other Types of Diversity	p. 32
Economic circumstances	p. 32
Gender	p. 35
Conclusion	p. 37
The Developmental Damage to Children as a Result of the Violation of their Rights	p. 39
Introduction	p. 39
Pervasive Traumatic Experiences	p. 40
Developmental Damage Caused by Sexual Abuse	p. 43
A Case of Systematic and Accumulative Violation of Rights	p. 46
Mental Sexual Abuse in the Classroom: Sexual Brainwashing	p. 49
The Anxiety Model: Externalising and Internalising Behavioural Problems	p. 52
Trauma and Guilt	p. 55
The Perspective of the Victim	p. 56
The Voice of the Child in the System of Care	p. 58
Conclusion	p. 60
References	p. 61
The Children's Law of Nations: The International Rights of the Child in the Trias Pedagogica	p. 65
Introduction	p. 65
The Children's Law of Nations: A Child-Caregiver-Community Approach to Children's Rights	p. 67
Concepts and Terms	p. 67
The Children's Law of Nations Binds All States, Both Rich and Poor	p. 68
Object and Purpose of the Children's Law of Nations	p. 69
The Emancipation of the (Young) Child: Empowering Caregivers and Building Communities	p. 72
State Obligations: A Universal Constitutional Perspective	p. 75
The International Rights of the Child in the Trias Pedagogica: An Interpretative Framework	p. 76
The Convention on the Rights of the Child as Temple of the Trias Pedagogica: its Foundation, Pillars and Roof	p. 78
Foundation	p. 79
Pillars: the three P's	p. 79
Roof: the fundamental principle of 'the right of the child to become an optimal person'	p. 82
Firm ground	p. 84
Trias Versus Transism	p. 84
Trias pedagogica	p. 84
Transism	p. 85
The Constitutionalisation of the Trias Pedagogica: A Proposed Provision	p. 87
Plea for Provision (Provision-Prevention) and Participation as a New Legal Paradigm	p. 88
Informing the public, informing parents, informing the child	p. 88
What should we do?	p. 89
From passing on trauma to passing on knowledge	p. 90
Ten Programmatic Rights	p. 93
Conclusion	p. 95
References	p. 98
Children's Rights and the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect: The Quest for a Trias Pedagogica of Children, Parents and Society	p. 107
Introduction	p. 108
International Law and the Emancipation of the Child	p. 112
Human Dignity: Respect and Self-Respect	p. 114
Multiculturalism or Social Exclusion?	p. 117
Parental Autonomy or Transism?	p. 119
Women's Rights in the Best Interests of the Child	p. 121
Developmental Damage: One out of Three Children	p. 123
Preparation for Parenthood as a Human Right	p. 126
Trias Pedagogica: Constitutionalization and Operationalization	p. 129
The CRC: Building Blocks for a Constitutional Trias Pedagogica	p. 132
Continuum of Care: Combined Universal, Selective and Indicated Prevention	p. 136
Conclusion	p. 138
The Convention on the Rights of the Child: Orientation and Conceptualization of Children's Rights	p. 143
Introduction	p. 143
Orientation	p. 148
Conceptualization	p. 161
Conclusion	p. 169
References	p. 171
Appendices	p. 173
Children's Rights at a Dignitarian Horizon of Responsible Parenthood	p. 187
Introduction	p. 187
A Helicopter View	p. 188
Dignitarian Versus Libertarian Attitudes and Views	p. 192
Responsible Parenthood	p. 197
The Best Interests of the Child	p. 199
Parental Responsibilities and State Obligations	p. 204
Conclusion	p. 209
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Developmental and Autonomy Rights of Children Empowering Children, Caregivers and Communities

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