Colonizing "Childhood": A Critical Analysis of Human Rights Discourse in the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child

• In Event: 69.057 - Roundtable Session 32
  In Roundtable Session: 69.057-15 - Mobilizing Discourses Across Contexts

Abstract

The United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is, at face value, a multi-nation commitment to advancing children’s dignity, rights, and freedoms. However, the United Nations (UN), as a policy-making body, has a complicated history, thus, the human rights discourse purported by the UN must be situated and examined for contradictions. In this paper, we draw upon decolonial theory to highlight how the UN human rights discourse contributes to a neoliberal agenda. Specifically, the authoritative discourse present in the UNCRC’s preamble was examined using critical discourse analysis. While the document offers seemingly irrefutable and universal statements, it erases historical, culture, and social conditions potentially expanding Western domination over historically oppressed communities.

Authors

• Natacha Monestel-Mora, The University of British Columbia

• Jennifer A. Vadeboncoeur, The University of British Columbia