The case for the child: towards a new agenda

In this groundbreaking book legal scholars and social scientists join forces to explore a most important issue: why the basic rights of children, to belong to a family, to be properly protected, clothed and fed, are so difficult to implement. The articles indicate that many first world countries have put in place the necessary legislation, but that, in practice, the rights of children are often brushed aside. In the rest of the world, where even the legal foundations of children’s rights are still missing, the children are often sent to work at an early age and may even suffer hunger and deprivation. Wherever the child is integrated in a more or less stable group, that lives and works together, its welfare is safeguarded. Where such groups are absent, as in unstable industrial economies, the rights of children are inevitably neglected or abused. The reader is invited to glean more insights from this rich and varied collection.