State Department Promises Move Toward CRC Ratification On March 10, the Obama administration told the UN Human Rights Council that it supports the UNHRC's recommendations that the United States should “ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child [CRC].” Moreover, the administration promised that it “intend[s] to review how we could move toward its ratification.”
In the meantime, SR 99 opposing ratification of the CRC is very close to its first major milestone. As of yesterday, Senator Jim DeMint's resolution, which expresses the reasons Senators oppose the UN child rights treaty, has 32 cosponsors, with 2 more senators committed to sign next Monday.
This is great news - but it is not enough!
We need to recognize that the Obama administration and the UN will not give up so easily. Thirty-four senators signed a similar measure regarding the Panama Canal treaty a few years ago, and the administration twisted arms until enough changed their minds to ratify that controversial treaty.
We cannot be satisfied with 32 Senators, or even with 34. We need to aim for at least 40 co-sponsors of SR 99 to make sure that the CRC cannot move forward in this term of Congress. Pro-CRC States? Additionally, state legislators in both Illinois and Rhode Island have introduced resolutions calling for the ratification of the CRC. Amazingly, the Rhode Island resolution admits, “If enacted, the [CRC] would become superior to the laws of the states and their judicial systems, and would be subordinate only to the text of the [U.S.] Constitution.”
Any state legislator who wants a treaty to become superior to his or her own state’s law is confessing the inability to enact state laws that are sufficient to protect children. They should do the honorable thing and resign if they feel so incompetent.
(Residents of Rhode Island please see our alert here and call today!) Take Action: Call Now! In light of the promise to the UN made just two weeks ago, we can expect greater pressure coming from the administration in very short order. We must continue to press on while we have the momentum.
Check the list of co-sponsors of SR 99 and call your senators today if they are not on the list. Urge them to stand for American self-government and the freedom of families to make good decisions for their children.
Finally, if you can help us with a donation for this cause, please click here.
Gratefully,
Michael Farris
President, ParentalRights.org |
