Mike Farris:
This week, we’ve been considering the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Proponents of the CRC argue that America must ratify this treaty to uphold our claim to respect human rights. But the CRC is a serious threat to American sovereignty and not an effective guarantee of human rights.

International law imposes a duty upon nations to keep their promises contained in treaties. We ought not to promise to obey a treaty, unless it’s our intent to actually do just that. We should carefully consider the content for any treaty—not only whether the substantive rules contained in the treaty are wise and appropriate, but also decide whether the policies in question are best made by international law instead of by our own American elected representatives.

It has been almost two decades since this treaty went into force. Over this period of time, two things have become clear: first, a mountain of evidence of the radical meaning of this treaty, which comes from the mouths of those who enforce and believe in this treaty, is now evident. Secondly, this treaty has done almost nothing to improve the lives of children in any meaningful fashion in the nations which have adopted it.

The conclusion is this: if we really want to improve the lives of children, international law won’t work. Global villages will never replace good parents. I’m Mike Farris.