This Sunday, Human Rights Watch denounced the failure in the 50 states that make up the United States of international standards established for the protection of children, pointing out child marriages and physical punishment among the main problems.
“The legal protection of children in all 50 US states does not meet international standards,” the non-governmental organization (NGO) said in a statement.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), in the United States of America (USA) children can legally marry in 41 states, be physically punished by school administrators in 47 states, sentenced to life in prison without parole in 22, and work in the agricultural sector. Hazardous conditions in all 50 states.
“As the only Member State of the United Nations (UN) that has not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the United States falls far short of internationally adopted standards,” the NGO noted.
Despite this scenario, HRW noted that, last year, 11 states enacted reforms that improved their classification in terms of children’s rights.
On a scale from “A” to “F”, no American state managed to obtain the best grades: “A” and “B.”
Seven states have a “C” grade, 27 have a “D” grade, and 16 North American states have the worst grade (F).
Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Vermont and West Virginia all showed improvements last year.
“In the absence of federal ratification and federal laws relating to many of the issues addressed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, jurisdiction remains in the hands of individual states. As a result, the protection and advancement of children’s rights varies from country to country. one state to another.”, noted HRW.
The policy changes that improved states’ scores focused primarily in the areas of prohibiting the sentencing of children to life in prison without parole, raising the minimum age for processing children in the juvenile system, and limiting or prohibiting child marriage.
“The United States has a long way to go to align its laws and policies with international children’s rights standards, but some states are making progress,” said Jo Becker, children’s rights advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. , mentioned in the statement.
On the other hand, progress has been limited regarding the prohibition of corporal punishment. When it comes to child labor, some states have backed down and taken steps to reduce protections against child labor.
“State and national policymakers must take urgent action to ensure that all children are protected from child marriage, violent treatment, hazardous and exploitative work, and unjust and extreme sentencing,” Becker concluded.
Source: TSF
