Legal protections for children in the United States and in every individual state fall short of international children’s rights standards, Human Rights Watch said Thursday.
“Children in the US can be legally married in 41 states, physically punished by school administrators in 47 states, sentenced to life without parole in 22 states, and work in hazardous agriculture conditions in all 50 states,” reads the statement from HRW.
As the only UN member state that has failed to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the US falls far below internationally adopted standards. Since its adoption in 1989, 196 countries have ratified the CRC, committing to protect children from violence and exploitation, and ensure their education and healthy development.
In 2022, HRW released a report that found US states overwhelmingly fail to live up to key standards set by the CRC. In the scorecard released last year, 16 states received an F grade. Of the remaining states, 27 receive a D grade, 7 receive a C grade, and not a single state receives a B or an A.
The new report stated that 11 states have enacted reforms that improve their rankings. Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Vermont, and West Virginia showed improvement over the last year.
“It’s disappointing that so many states still fail to meet international children’s rights standards, but this progress shows that policymakers have the potential to bring about rapid change to protect children,” said Callie King-Guffey, lead researcher for the scorecard.
“We must build on the momentum to protect children from child marriage, corporal punishment, hazardous child labour, and extreme prison sentences.”
