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Tom Kennedy, 60, is the Chair of the Campaign for US Ratification of the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC). Along with Somalia, the US is one of only two countries in the world which have failed to ratify. The Campaign is a volunteer-driven network of individuals and organisations which was established in 2002 in the wake of the UN Special Session on Children. It became apparent at the session that the US government was trying to marginalise the CRC and limit references to it in the outcome document. A number of individuals felt that, in addition to implications for the US, encouraging ratification might be a good way to address the child rights issue internationally. Tom is also a Senior Vice President of Covenant House, which provides shelter and other services to homeless youth. Our members are finding that even people who have conservative views have been expressing an openness towards ratification and the importance of the CRC. We have organised everything from grassroots events to a summit in 2006 which was attended by about 350 people. We have also organised about ten briefings in cities around the county, and regularly organise visits to senators. I don’t know the exact reasons for the opposition to ratification, but there is a an anti-UN group who oppose treaties in general. There is also this concern that children’s rights will viscerate the rights of parents. But the more we talk to people, the more it seems that it is mostly just a lack of knowledge of what the CRC means. There is a history of taking a long time to ratify treaties in the US, for example the genocide treaty took 30 years. The CRC is the most swiftly ratified treaty of them all. We feel there is a really good opportunity in the next two or three years. A new president will take some time to address the issue whoever it is. We will run a main event at some point in the first one hundred days of the presidency. It is likely that the Convention would be ratified with reservations. There is a history of the US being less connected to the international community than, for example, Europe. There tends to be a hesitancy about any interdependence. There is a tradition of closely examining anything that will affect our internal laws. The treaty would have to be incorporated into law, but it as much an aspirational treaty which sets standards for everyone to follow. It has tremendous ramifications in this regard, for example for support services for children, or in juvenile justice. The CRC is referred to already in the courts and that’s encouraging. It was cited during the lead-up to the elimination of the death penalty in the US for children. The US joining the CRC will help the international community to embrace the Convention and better implement it. The fact that there are only two countries left to ratify, and if one of those countries did so, would help enforcement and draw more attention to child rights. Whoever next becomes President, we are confident that they will pass the issue to the Senate over the two or three years. Then the battle will begin with the Senate. We have shied away from getting it into the agenda [during the selection of presidential nominees] because we don’t want the issue to get misrepresented, for example with people saying it is taking rights away from parents. Some people can be very aggressive about the issue, but in general it is not at the forefront of people’s agendas at the moments so lots of people are neutral. I’m continually concerned about the abuse of children, but I think the area of education is critical, and undervalued as a right. In fact, in the US education is not a right. Considering some of these issues in terms of rights is very important. One of the strengths of our group so far is that we have always been transparent, and open to ideas and participation. Although I am the chair, and there is a core group of three people who make the final decision, no one person dominates. I think this is part of the reason we have managed to stay alive with so little funding. We have also built in stages, and not tried to do too much in one go. Implementation is a particular problem around the world, whether states have ratified or not. A movement towards ratification in the US would support implementation in the rest of the world. Implementation is not just about governments but about people themselves, and about children being aware of their rights. Child rights is about the idea that children are first and foremost human beings, as soon as they come into the world. About 100 years ago in the US, there was a case when some parents sued after their child was killed in an accident. They failed because the court said the child had no value because child labour had no value. In another case in the 1970s, parents in a similar situation were awarded $1 million for emotional loss. But the CRC says that children have value in themselves, and not in relation to other people because of the role they play. Religious groups were originally opposed to the CRC, but as they became more involved an understood the Convention more, many have realised that this idea ties in with the concept of a child of God, deserving of these rights. . The best thing about my job is working with all these passionate individuals who give up their time for the Campaign. The worst is that the campaign has had to go on for so long.