Introduction

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is for most children an invisible presence – a piece of paper with text that will likely not be understood. In fact, for many adults, the Convention will also be a blur of legalese. However, unbeknownst to most, the UNCRC has been the catalyst for the expansion and implementation of children’s rights. More specifically, it has set in motion the existence and acceptance of the child as a legal subject, and Article 12 UNCRC is the cornerstone for the child’s right to participate. As a children’s rights instrument, the UNCRC is unparalleled, because of its international reach, being almost universally binding, and the broad scope of children’s rights it provides.

In the quest to determine, align and strengthen the international and European human rights framework for the child’s right to participate in family law proceedings, Article 12 and the UNCRC as a whole form the starting point. It is not possible to fully grasp the framework without first conducting a deep dive into the UNCRC. And this chapter will provide an in-depth study of this because, as the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC Committee) rightfully expressed in the quote above, there is much to be said about Article 12 and how to implement it.

In this chapter, the first step is to set out the international and European human rights framework for the child’s right to participate and to determine how this framework can be aligned and strengthened: the UNCRC and Article 12 in particular are put through the x-ray machine. In doing so, the different aspects making up the right to participation will be lit up, as bones in the body. In addition, other UNCRC rights of relevance to the understanding and implementation of Article 12 will also be discussed, as the joints which allow our bones to connect and move.