Evolution and challenges of children's rigths in Mexico

a guarantee-based perspective

Abstract

The recognition of children's rights in Mexico and internationally has evolved from viewing girls, boys, and adolescents as objects of rights to subjects of rights. Globally, key milestones include the founding of Save the Children in 1919, the Geneva Declaration (1924), the establishment of UNICEF (1946), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), which set principles such as non-discrimination, comprehensive development, and the prohibition of labor exploitation. Other international instruments, like the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Optional Protocols of 2000 and 2011, reinforce these guarantees

In Mexico, the ratification of the Convention in 1990, constitutional reforms in 2011, and the General Law on the Rights of Girls, Boys, and Adolescents (2014) establish a legal framework prioritizing the best interests of children. However, Luigi Ferrajoli's guarantist theory notes that, despite the validity of these norms, their effectiveness is limited. Reports from Save the Children and the Network for Children's Rights in Mexico (2023) highlight extreme violence against minors, with thousands of homicides and femicides, as well as the involvement of children and adolescents in organized crime. The Committee on the Rights of the Child criticizes the lack of coordination, resources, and legislative harmonization, underscoring the ineffectiveness of norms in guaranteeing the fundamental rights of children in our country