Holly Stewart

How can it be that 250 million children under the age of five are alive right now and don’t have a birth certificate? How can there be 13 countries currently listed by the United Nations’ Security Council that are at war with children engaged as combatants, as cooks, or as servants? How can there be an estimated 150 million children worldwide who are engaged in various forms of child labour?

These were some of the questions posed by United Nations Children’s Fund representative Susan Bissel on Thursday at panel discussion on international  children’s rights.

In a room of roughly 20 McGill students and faculty members, Nadja Pollaert, the director general of the International Bureau for Children’s Rights, joined Bissel to address the topic of protecting children’s rights worldwide.

In her remarks, Bissel stressed that even in today’s globalizing world, where social and economic issues are increasingly integrated, issues of children’s rights go largely unnoticed. She said this is a major  issue that we ignore all too easily.  

Bissel explained that a birth certificate is a document many people take for granted, but children without such documentation lack an internationally recognized identity.  

“Children without birth certificates, in theory, don’t exist,” she said. “They can fall victim to exploitation and violence and no one would even know.”

Bissel believes that robust international law could be the key to improving children’s well-being. She cited the Convention for the Rights of the Child (CRC) as an example of the highest international organization recognizing the need to not only address but also codify solutions.

The second speaker, Pollaert, focused her discussion on child trafficking, calling it “a trendy issue” in our current political and social landscape.

Her organization focuses on the key areas of sexual exploitation of children, children in armed conflict, children and justice, and general promotion of the CRC.

Pollaert addressed the critical role of the police in the issue of children’s rights.  

“Police are the beginning and sometimes the end of child victims,” she said.  

Pollaert explained that in some countries, instead of a source of protection, police are a main source of corruption, leaving the child nowhere to turn if they are being abused.

Pollaert also spoke on the increasingly difficult problems that have arisen in the children’s rights domain with the introduction and spread of the Internet.

“Young girls and boys are presenting themselves on the Internet and exchanging sexual favours for goods such as BlackBerrys or jeans,” she said. This leaves these children a vulnerable position locally and internationally.

After the talks, audience members were invited to give their thoughts and engage in a dialogue with the panelists.

Sam Goldman, a McGill alumnus and former history teacher, didn’t want to downplay the severity of the issues presented, but felt the most important issue was overlooked: permanent genetic malformations due to poor maternal health. Without tackling this problem at the source, he said, “we are dooming a considerable portion of the human race. This is a large problem getting bigger all the time.”

Bissel acknowledged the importance of this issue, but refrained from offering a comprehensive answer. She claimed that it was unfortunate that such a critical problem goes largely unnoticed but acknowledged that a significant portion of UNICEF’s $4 billion dollar budget is being spent on maternal health.

In her closing remarks, Bissel hoped for a future increase in the protection of children’s rights.

“The challenges are enormous,” Bissel said. “But so too are the possibilities for action, collaboration, and great outcomes for children and their families.”