I came across this article via Kim Du Toit's site. I must say that I found it really disturbing. At first I was somewhat skeptical that the article was accurately reporting the facts, since the site in question seems to be quite right-leaning. That isn't bad, in and of itself, but does make me consider more closely what is being said in the article, and to examine the issues carefully, so that I can separate facts from opinion and ideology. I do the same when I'm reading liberal or leftist sources (or any other source, for that matter).

After examining the relevant United Nations documents (see here and here), it appears that the article is accurate. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is "recommending" that Canada outlaw spanking of children for any reason, even by their own parents!

While welcoming the efforts being made by the State party [Canada] to promote research on alternative methods of punishment of children, the Committee recommended that the State party adopt legislation to remove the existing authorization of the use of “reasonable force” in disciplining children and explicitly prohibit all forms of violence against children, however light, within the family, in schools and in other institutions where children might be placed. [Committee on the Rights of Children Press Release HR/4698]

The issue here, in my opinion, is not so much whether or not spanking children is or is not an effective form of discipline. I'm not even so much concerned about the clear infringement on parent's rights to discipline their own children in a reasonable way.

What I find so disturbing is that a body of bureaucrats in the United Nations is telling the citizens of a representative democracy what their laws should be. That is just plain wrong - and it is an example of what is wrong with the UN as a whole.

Take a look at the membership of the Committee on the Rights of the Child:

The Convention requires that the members of the Committee have a high moral standing and recognized competence in the field of children's rights.  The following Experts, elected by the State parties to serve in their personal capacity, have been elected to the Committee: Ibrahim Abdul Aziz Al-Sheddi (Saudi Arabia), Ghalia Mohd Bin Hamad Al-Thani (Qatar), Joyce Aluoch (Kenya), Saisuree Chutikul (Thailand), Luigi Citarella (Italy), Jacob Egbert Doek (the Netherlands), Kamel Filali (Algeria),  Moushira Khattab (Egypt), Hatem Kotrane (Tunisia), Lothar Friedrich Krappmann (Germany), Yanghee Lee (Republic of Korea), Norberto Liwski (Argentina), Rosa Maria Ortiz (Paraguay), Awa N'Deye Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso), Marilia Sardenberg Goncalves (Brazil), Lucy Smith (Norway); Marjorie Taylor (Jamaica), and Nevena Vuckovic-Sahovic (Serbia and Montenegro).

I laughed out loud when I read the "high moral standing and recognized competence" tripe. Isn't it interesting that five of the members are from Islamic countries (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Algeria, Egypt, and Tunisia), which are not known for their whole-hearted support for human rights? I wonder how they reconcile Muslim Shari'a with Article 19, paragraph 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child?

States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child.

It appears to me that this another example of the extreme hypocrisy and moral equivalence that pervades the United Nations. Some countries (e.g. Canada) are taken to task for allowing spanking of children, "however light," while others (e.g. Madagascar) are given no worse treatment for murder:

Further, among other things, the Committee recommended that the State party take all the necessary measures to stop the murder or rejection of children thought to be “born on an unlucky day”, including through awareness-raising in the society at large, which should involve traditional leaders. [Committee on the Rights of Children Press Release HR/4698]

If I read that the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child "condemned in the strongest possible terms" the murder of children in Madagascar for being born on an "unlucky day" and demanded that it be stopped immediately, then I could possibly stand a "recommendation" that Canada pass laws to stop spanking. But the UNCRC only "recommended" that "all necessary measures" be taken in Madagascar. Disgusting. This is an example of why representative democracies must not surrender authority or sovereignty to UN bureaucrats.

01/06/2004 05:12:48 AM

Permanent link