No U.S. state meets international child rights standards, study reveals

The United States is failing its children, according to a revealing scorecard released by Human Rights Watch.

The scorecard says that no U.S. state, including New York, currently meets the globally accepted standards for child rights. From child marriage to corporal punishment, the nation’s lack of conformity with international children’s rights standards is glaringly evident.

While the United States stands as a lone outlier — the only U.N. member state that has not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child — the consequences of such an omission are deeply felt.

The report highlighted that child marriage is legal in 41 states, corporal punishment by school administrators is permitted in 47 states, and life sentencing without parole for children is sanctioned in 22 states. Further darkening the portrait, hazardous agricultural labor conditions exist for children in every state.

The scorecard, released a year ago, ranked states based on their adherence to international child rights standards. The updated version shows 11 states have made reforms, pushing them up the rankings. Notably, these policy changes were focused on prohibiting juvenile life without parole, altering the minimum age for child prosecution, and either limiting or outright banning child marriage.

Callie King-Guffey, the study’s lead researcher, commented on the results, stating, “Although the progress is commendable, the overall picture remains grim. The potential for positive change is undeniable, but the pace needs to accelerate.”

Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Vermont and West Virginia have all shown improvement in the past year. Still, only seven states managed to score above a “D” grade.

Legislation introduced in various states could further enhance protections for children. Several bills aim to ban or restrict child marriage, with Connecticut and…