The Danger of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child

Have you ever watched a common mole? You know, the kind that pushes up mounds and trails in your yard? Of course not- it is underground. You do not know the mole is nearby until after the damage is done. Well, there is a mole of a story lurking just out of plain sight that must be eradicated, and the media seems uninterested in giving this story more air time and print space. To be fair, there is so much news to cover it is impossible for all news affecting us to be aired/printed, and even harder for one person to absorb it all. One such story that should be uncovered and brought above ground is the story of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Michael Farris, an attorney, wrote a column for ChristianNewsWire in May of this year. He addresses the legal impact that U.S. ratification of this seemingly nice sounding convention could have on parents in raising their children. (Michael Farris, is not "just" an attorney, he is also president and Co-founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association, and is current Chancellor of Patrick Henry College.) He wrote this bit of information that would raise the hackles of any parent I know:

"For starters, Obama supports the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, a treaty that would have disastrous consequences for the American family. This treaty would be, according to our Constitution, part of the Supreme law of the land. And in the U.S. international treaties override state law.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child is the official UN tribunal granted the authority to interpret and enforce the Children's Convention, which sets forth an exhaustive index of children's rights, many at odds with the rights of parents. The tribunal has held, for instance, that the United Kingdom violated children's rights in Wales by allowing parents to withdraw their children from public school programs without first considering the child's wishes.

What this means in plain English is that the UN has determined that the government will decide for all what is best for our children. The government has authority to intervene in decisions regarding a child's education. The government will choose whether the child's wishes or the parent's wishes are the best for children.

This is the ultimate dream of elitists: they get to decide for all of us what is best for our own children.

Obama has clearly demonstrated his elitist core values. He has recently stated that people who believe in the Bible and who exercise their Second Amendment rights are driven by bitterness. It is not their fault, he says in a paternal voice, that they hold such regressive attitudes; an unjust society has led them to this unfortunate set of views and practices.

This very brand of elitist, statist thinking lies at the heart of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. No parent can be trusted to make decisions for their children without the government having the power to intervene in every case.

from: http://christiannewswire.com/news/486236590.html, David Halbrook

This underground mole, however, is about to break ground, and when it does, it will be too late. If the Senate consents to this treaty (signed by Clinton in 1995), we could/will likely be tried for not considering our children's "wishes" in our decision making.

My children's wishes do matter to me. However, they are too young to fully formulate the opinions and decisions regarding their lives. Therefore, I have to make decisions that would be contrary to their wishes. For me to abdicate my responsibility as a parent to my own child would cause chaos in my home. Abdicating it to the government would be disastrous as well. Parental rights and authority would be undermined, and the ensuing anarchy that follows from such a law would destroy a fabric of society already weakened by moral relativism, pluralism, gay rights, gay "marriage", and the like.

I am not talking about abstract, academic implications here. It is feasible that a liberal application of this Convention would include the rights of the parents to "force" children to attend church with the family, the rights of parents to choose their children's education (public, private, or home school), and the means of disciplining their children. As a homeschool dad, I don't relish the thought of living in a country where the governemnt can tell me that homeschooling is not in the best interests of my children. Can't happen? Tell that to the German parents being harrassed, questioned, forced to undergo psychiatric evaluation, or are even in jail because they are fighting for their right to homeschool. Many homeschool families are fleeing the country because of the pressure of the government to keep their children in government run schools.

According to U.S. Law, treaties must be consented to by the Senate. Please write, email and call your Senators and Congressmen today and tell them to vote "no" should a consent vote to this treaty come up. Once in office, contact President-elect Obama and ask him to repeal the presidential signature (not likely, as he fully supports this convention, as you can see at http://debate.waldenu.edu/video/question-12/#content).