Convention on the Rights of the Child and Legal Issues Relating to Children：Focusing on the Right to Express Opinions

Abstract

　The key point of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Japan ratified in 1994, is that children are not “objects of protection” but “subjects of rights” as human beings, and a particularly important article is the right to express opinions in Article 12. 　In the field of child welfare, discussions on how to guarantee the rights of children are expanding. In the judicial field, public defender systems for juvenile cases and a system of procedural counseling for children in domestic relations cases have been established. In contrast, efforts based on the Convention have lagged those in the school field. At the time of the ratification of the Convention, the Ministry of Education was also reluctant to make a notification. However, this year, the Student Guidance Manual was revised, and there was a movement to include a reference to the Convention. 　The Basic Law for Children was enacted in 2022. It is necessary to further promote the spirit of the　Convention on the Rights of the Child as an important tool to realize that human rights are protected in schools where many children spend most of their time. 　Keywords: Convention on the Rights of the Child, The Right to Express Opinions