Countries using child rights to justify executions for drug offences

By Caitlin Fitzgerald

International child rights are being used by some countries to justify the execution of people for drug offences, despite this practice being illegal under international law.The UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), adopted in 1989, stipulates that “governments must protect children from the illegal use of drugs and from being involved in the production or distribution of drugs”, and has been ratified by every UN member state apart from the United States. Additionally, the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention – internationally adopted in 1999 - states that governments must “take immediate and effective measures to [prohibit and eliminate] … the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs"

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Thumbnail: Flickr CC Adam Lai