On this date in 1989, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). As Oma Vic McMurray points out in a letter in the Capital Times today, the U.S. played a large role in drafting the provisions of the convention. Yet 26 years after it was adopted by the UN, the United States is the only country in the UN not to ratify the convention.

The CRC recognizes that children must be afforded special protections, and establishes norms and regulations regarding the social, cultural, civil and political rights of children. National governments who ratify the CRC choose to be held accountable in their commitment to protecting and ensuring the rights of children.

Ms. McMurray’s letter not only highlights the fact that the U.S. remains the only U.N. nation to not ratify the Convention and that it’s high time that we did, but also comments upon the fact that over the past 26 years the U.S. has been falling behind in many child well-being indicators. According to a United Nation’s International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) report card on child well-being in rich countries, out of the 29 industrialized countries assessed, the U.S. consistently ranks in the bottom third for the six dimensions measured in the report. These include measures of material well-being, health and safety, educational well-being, behavior and risks, and housing and environment.

Twenty-six years ago the U.S. did the right thing by being actively involved in the drafting of the CRC. But the time is long overdue for Congress to take the next step by actually ratifying the convention, and it’s also time to make the well-being of children a much higher priority in our nation’s budget allocations.

Sashi Gregory