Chicago City Council Passes Resolution Supporting the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child

CHICAGO — Sandra Babcock, associate clinical professor at the Center for International Human Rights (CIHR) at Northwestern University School of Law, will be available to talk about the City of Chicago’s historic adoption today, Wednesday, Feb. 11, of a resolution in support of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The Mayor introduced the resolution into the City Council with the support ofCommissioner Mary Ellen Caron, Department of Family and Support Services. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the U.N. General Assembly’s ratification of the convention, the most comprehensive treaty on children’s rights in the world. To date, the CRC has been ratified by every U.N. country except the United States and Somalia. Chicago joins ranks with nine other cities and two states that have passed resolutions in support of the CRC, the first comprehensive international treaty that protects children by setting standards in health care; education; and legal, civil and social services. We applaud the Mayor and the Chicago City Council for taking this historic first step, said Babcock. This resolution comes at a time when the United States is seeking to demonstrate its regard for fundamental human rights, and it should galvanize other U.S. cities and the federal government to support the CRC. Northwestern University School of Law’s Center for International Human Rights and its Children and Family Justice Center (CFJC) led a diverse coalition of children’s rights advocates and organizations that advocated for the passage of the City of Chicago resolution in support of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child. The CRC provides local, national, and regional governing institutions with a comprehensive organizing mechanism for understanding and promoting survival, security, participation and development rights for children. Doing whatever is in the best interest of the child is the convention’s guiding principle. The Chicago resolution will provide the city with a framework through which different public agencies can align their work to effectively promote the well being of children. The City Council’s adoption of the CRC reaffirms that Chicago is both a global city and an innovative leader in addressing the needs of its children, said Commissioner Caron. More than a century ago, Chicago established the first juvenile court in the world; within the last decade, the City Council adopted a resolution to become one of two American cities designated as a UNICEF Child Friendly City; and the Chicago City Council has supported international human rights legislation involving women, laborers, and the homeless. NORTHWESTERN NEWS: www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/