Introduction

Introductory chapter in volume edited by G.Cortese. 17 chapters, incl. chapter by editor. Pages:11 to 317. Research in linguistics, law, social studies. The 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has indeed had a pervasive influence worldwide. Predictably, however, its implementation across the globe has proved highly controversial. The process continues to raise conceptual and procedural issues in a range of disciplines interested in the advancement of children’s rights and increasingly requires cross-disciplinary work. The essays collected in this volume are a significant effort in this direction, bringing together reflections on children’s rights from the perspective of language, law and social studies. The focus on marginalized identities foregrounds the discourses of abuse, exploitation and (growing) involvement of children in hostilities, AIDS, street children, educational choices involved in the rights of the disabled – as well as issues such as language rights and the right to be heard. At the same time, broader themes are explored: the language of the law and its translation, social constructs of childhood, the unique response of US lawmakers to the UNCRC as well as comparative perspectives on the best interests of the child, filiation, adoption, and the family as a social construct.