History and Status
The United States government played an active role in the drafting of the Convention. It commented on nearly all of the articles, and proposed the original text of seven of them. Three of these come directly from the United States Constitution and were proposed by the administration of President Ronald Reagan. On February 16, 1995, Madeleine Albright, at the time the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, signed the Convention. It has not so far been ratified; the United States historically has employed a cautious approach to ratification of treaties: for example, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination was only ratified 28 years after being signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Though generally supportive of the Convention, President Bill Clinton did not submit it to the Senate for its advice and consent. President Barack Obama has described the failure to ratify the Convention as 'embarrassing' and has promised to review this. The United States is the only country besides Somalia and South Sudan, that has not ratified the Convention.
In order for the U.S to ratify the UNCRC it needs to go through a series of steps. First the President or a representative needs to sign the treaty, then it needs to be submitted to the U.S Senate explaining, and interpreting all provisions in the treaty. The Senate must approve the treaty with two-thirds majority. After the Senate approves the President can ratify it. In 1995 President Clinton signed the treaty but it was never given to the Senate for consideration. The Obama Administration has said that it intends to submit the treaty, but there is no set timeline for it.
Ratification of the UNCRC requires all states party to the treaty to submit reports, outlining the implementation of the treaty on the domestic level, to the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, a panel of child rights experts from around the world. States must report initially two years after acceding to (ratifying) the Convention and then every five years.
Read more about this topic: US Ratification Of The Convention On The Rights Of The Child
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