Mike Farris:
In 1989, a treaty proclaiming a world-wide regime of human rights for children was adopted and opened for ratification. Subsequently, the Convention on the Rights of the Child has been ratified by a total of 193 nations. This makes it the most widely adopted human rights treaty of any kind. Only two nations have not ratified the CRC: the United States and Somalia. The U.S. has signed the treaty, but it’s never been sent to the U.S. Senate for ratification. At least—not yet.

Under the most basic rule of international law, every nation that becomes a party to a treaty is obligated to perform the duties that it assumes under the terms of the treaty.

Article VI of our Constitution declares all treaties that are made to be part of the supreme law of the land. And I quote:

and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

This section clearly proclaims that treaties are superior to all state laws and state constitutions when the provisions of state law conflict with the rules contained in the treaty. This is especially important because in the area of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, virtually all law governing the parent-child relationship is state law, thus virtually all American law is overridden by the terms of this treaty.

I’ll have more on the Convention on the Rights of the Child all this week. I’m Mike Farris.