Peer-reviewed article
The Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Children in Seven South Asian Countries
Amanda Adamcheck, Kaya Carville, Senem Cilingiroglu, Rachael Clements, Stacy Ford et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This article examines how seven South Asian countries have incorporated two key child rights principles from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into their domestic laws: preventing unnecessary family separation and using alternative care only as a last resort. Although all seven countries have ratified the Convention, each has implemented it differently and to varying degrees. The review finds that while progress has been made, effective implementation of the Convention's policies remains incomplete across the region.
Key points
- The study examines two specific principles: preventing unnecessary child-family separation and placing alternative care as a last resort
- All seven countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Each country has reflected the Convention and Guidelines through domestic law in different ways and to different degrees
- Progress has been made across all jurisdictions in implementing these principles
- Effective implementation of policies envisioned by the Convention remains elusive despite ratification
Limitations
The document is an abstract or introduction that does not provide detailed findings, empirical data, or country-by-country analysis of how each jurisdiction has implemented the specific principles. It does not explain what barriers exist or what specific legislative gaps remain.
Abstract
This year marks thirty years since the Convention on the Rights of the Child (the Convention) entered into force and ten years since the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children (the Guidelines) were adopted. The term ‘alternative care’ refers to the placing of children in the care of someone other than a parent. Although the seven South Asian countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – have ratified the Convention, each of the jurisdictions has reflected the Convention and Guidelines through domestic law in different ways and to different degrees. This article examines the extent to which two key child rights principles enshrined in the Convention have been incorporated into the domestic law of these countries: (a) the obligation to undertake active measures to prevent the unnecessary separation of children from their families and (b) the placing of a child in alternative care as a measure of last resort. While progress has been made across all jurisdictions, effective implementation of policies envisioned by the Convention remains elusive.