Children make up half of the world’s refugees and over 40 per cent of the world’s asylum seekers. However, children are largely invisible in historical and contemporary refugee law. Furthermore, there has been very limited interaction between the burgeoning children’s rights framework, in particular the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (Refugee Convention). This book explores the possibility of a children’s rights approach to the interpretation of the Refugee Convention and within that what such an approach might look like.
In order to construct a children’s rights approach, the conceptualisations of children outside the legal discipline, within international children’s rights law and then within refugee law and refugee discourse are analysed. The approach taken is socio-legal and comparative in nature and the suitability of the Refugee Convention as a framework for the interpretation of child claims is examined. The book analyses to what extent the Refugee Convention is capable of dealing with claims from children based on the modern conceptualisation of children, which is underscored by two competing ideologies: the child as a vulnerable object in law to be protected and the child as subject with rights and the capacity to exercise their agency. The influence each regime has had on the other is also analysed. The work discusses how a children’s rights approach might improve outcomes for child applicants.
The book makes an original contribution to child refugee discourse and as such will be an invaluable resource for academics, researchers and policymakers working in the areas of migration and asylum law, children’s rights and international human rights law.
By:
Samantha Arnold
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
Weight: 453g
ISBN: 9781138052710
ISBN 10: 113805271X
Series: Law and Migration
Pages: 220
Publication Date: 10 August 2017
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Chapter 1 Introduction Introduction A dichotomy: children’s rights and refugee law A children’s rights approach Building upon the ‘human rights approach’ Invisibility in refugee law Locating children’s rights in refugee law: Article 6 and the ‘Three Ps Approach’ Methodology of analysis Chapter 2 Children, childhood and refugee law Abstract Introduction Indicators of childhood and being a child and refugee law A paradigm shift: the emergence of childhood The modern children’s rights movement The beginning of the Children’s Rights Movement Global childhood Conflicts within the paradigm shift: an externalisation of rights, romanticism and the role of the family A conceptualisation of childhood Limitation to the modern conceptualisation of children's rights Conclusion Chapter 3 International Children’s Rights Law Abstract Introduction Origins of children’s rights in international law Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 and life, survival and development Provisional rights Health Standard of living Education Non-discrimination Protection rights Labour exploitation Other forms of economic exploitation Involvement in other illicit trades Military conscription Child marriage Other non-economic forms of harm Participation rights Agency in the Convention on the Right of the Child Determining agency Right to be heard The role of the family in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and provisional, protection and participation rights Children’s rights and refugee law – an indirect link? Conclusions Chapter 4 Children in the development of refugee law Abstract Introduction Children and the beginnings of international human rights law (pre-1951) Beginnings of refugee law The historical trajectory of children in the refugee paradigm Modern refugee law under the United Nations Conclusion Chapter 5 A children’s rights approach to refugee law? Abstract Introduction Part I Context setting Children within the Refugee Convention and the need for a cross-treaty interpretive approach: some assumptions Bridging the gap: treaty interpretation The challenge of implementing international law International law as national guidance The object and purpose of the Refugee Convention The object and purpose of the Convention on the Rights of the Child Conclusion on objects and purposes A children’s rights approach – justification through UN Guidance United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Committee on the Rights of the Child Challenges in the interpretation of the Refugee Convention in respect of children’s rights Part II A brief introduction to persecution Persecution and children Actors of persecution and protection and the role of the family Children who are not eligible for protection: exclusion Convention grounds Conclusion Chapter 6 Constructing a children’s rights approach: the application of children’s rights in refugee law Abstract Introduction Challenges to consistency in the interpretation of child refugee claims Part I Provisional rights and refugee protection Family Education Conclusion on provisional rights Part II Protection rights and refugee protection Exploitation Labour and trafficking Forced military recruitment and protection of children during conflict Involvement in illicit activities – gangs Other forms of harm: Indiscriminate violence and torture Family as persecutor and protector – unattached children Conclusion on protection rights Part III Participation rights and refugee protection Imputed beliefs Religion Political Opinion Conclusions: participation rights Conclusions A Children’s Rights Approach Chapter 7 Conclusions Abstract Introduction Dichotomies A children’s rights framework Invisibility in refugee law A bourgeoning children’s rights approach to the interpretation of the Refugee Convention Limited case law A children’s rights barometer for persecution: present day case law A particular convention ground The findings The questions Moving forward Conclusion
Samantha Arnold is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow within the Irish National Contact Point of the European Migration Network based in the Economic and Social Research Institute and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the School of Law at Trinity College Dublin. Samantha completed her PhD in the School of Law, Trinity College Dublin. Her research interests include refugee and immigration law and policy and children’s rights. She has published on these and related areas.
Reviews for Children's Rights and Refugee Law: Conceptualising Children within the Refugee Convention
"""In this meticulously researched and lucidly presented book, Samantha Arnold investigates the implications of the enduring legal disjunction between children's rights and refugee protection norms. At a time when the number of distress child migrants in need of international protection is at an all time high, understanding how children fit into refugee law is a key legal question and an urgent practical necessity. Both legal scholars and child rights advocates stand to gain considerably from this timely study."" Jacqueline Bhabha Professor of the Practice of Health and Human Rights Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health"
