Given that the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is framed broadly and its provisions often do not have direct effect, children’s rights must be internalised in national systems either through EU or domestic law. The previous chapters have established that states have obligations to limit unhealthy food marketing, while companies should respect children’s rights. However, this analysis does not reveal the extent to which states give effect to the aforementioned duties in practice while balancing other obligations and interests, including those described in the previous chapter.

No state or company has fully implemented the WHO Set of Recommendations on the Marketing of Foods and Non-Alcoholic Beverages to Children (WHO Recommendations). Although some countries have adopted regulations that limit marketing to children generally, only a minority specifically regulate unhealthy food and beverages. The majority of states have taken no action, with industry self-regulation the prevailing approach. In response, WHO Europe and academics have suggested that children’s rights provide a justification for adopting legislation, or more effective legislation, to limit unhealthy food marketing.

This may be necessary because states have been slow to legislate. The generally attributed causes of obesity fit well with neo-liberal politics that emphasise individual choice, parental autonomy, free market economics and limited government intervention. Barlow and Thow posit that neoliberal discourses may discourage states from pursuing structural measures and instead lead them to prioritise individually focused actions. As already described, self-regulation dominates even though it seems unlikely that the inherent conflicts of interest between the protection of public health and companies’ profits can be surmounted.

This chapter evaluates restrictions on unhealthy food marketing from the perspective of WHO Recommendations and children’s rights. It fills a gap, as scholarship does not examine the extent to which existing regulations comply with children’s rights. Adopting restrictions alone can mean little for the fulfilment of children’s rights if they are ineffective or ignore children’s legal personhood; the quality of the legislation is also important.

The chapter explores EU law before zeroing in on restrictions in Ireland, which are among the strictest worldwide and the most stringent in the EU.