DEFENDING THE WORLD'S CHILDREN

Editor

FROM THE EDITORS:

THE YEAR 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which establishes civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights for the world's children. This September, UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman introduced her organization's eighth progress report on meeting the goals of protecting children's rights, saying, "Around the world, far too many children are subject to violence, exploitation, and abuse" ("Progress for Children: A Report Card on Child Protection," p. 1). The report goes on to present comprehensive data on a wide range of issues, including child sexual abuse and trafficking, child marriage, child labor, and children without parental care.

Some of these specific instances of child violence even masquerade in the name of religion; a recent Associated Press story told of an increasing number of African children who have been denounced as witches by their pastors, and then tortured or killed. It mentioned that the families of these children are "sometimes even relieved to have one less mouth to feed."

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