AN OVERVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL INSTRUMENTS SAFEGUARDING CHILD RIGHTS"

Abstract

This Paper highlights significant legal milestones and the “best interest of the child” premise in international and regional child rights treaties. The 1959 UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the 1989 CRC establish broad, enforceable rights for children, including protection, participation, non-discrimination, and development. Child protections are strengthened and regionalized by the Minimum Age Convention (MAC), Optional Protocols on child trafficking and child soldiers, and African and European charters. These frameworks address child labor, trafficking, legal procedural rights, education, and adoption. Regional charters and conventions add children's duties in the African Charter or procedural rights in the European Charter to global norms. Despite broad legislative frameworks, the “best interest of the child” premise requires judicial and administrative discretion to adapt specific circumstances. Jurisprudential development works to guarantee that legal instruments articulate and successfully implement children's rights worldwide and regionally, building a legacy of protection and empowerment.