Rights of Children, the Elderly and Persons with Differing Abilities

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is one of the few international conventions on children’s rights that has been signed by almost all UN member states. It is therefore necessary to assess the extent to which the drafting of a constitutional clause on the rights of the child deviates from the usual practice of constitutional drafting, and various structured approaches are discussed. The chapter suggests that, in addition to the CRC, a specific provision should be included in each country’s constitution to give visibility to children as rights holders instead of actors in need of protection. A simple adoption of the CRC is not sufficient in modern constitutions. Principles such as non-discrimination, the best interests of the child, the right of the child to life, survival and development, and the right of the child to be heard in all decisions affecting them are discussed in detail. The second part of the chapter focuses on the rights of older persons and persons with differing abilities. Unlike the protection of children, the rights of older persons are not directly protected in the general human rights conventions, but the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities provides a comprehensive framework. The chapter shows that international safeguards currently do not provide consistent protection for older persons. Some guarantees may provide protection against discrimination on the grounds of ‘other status’, which includes discrimination on the grounds of age, while others contain an explicit prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of age, as do several national constitutions.