The Child's Right to Development

Reviews / Votes

'The Child's Right to Development is an extremely welcome addition to the field of children's rights scholarship. The right to development is fundamental to understanding the Convention on the Rights of the Child but has, to date, been neglected completely in research and scholarship. Dr Peleg's detailed and thoughtful legal analysis situates the right within wider childhood theory and child development practice. This scholarly critique is a must read for every children's rights academic or student.' Laura Lundy, Co-Editor in Chief International Journal of Children's Rights; Co-Director, Centre for Children's Rights, Queen's University Belfast 'Focusing on the crucial issue of the child's right to development under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - a historically under-researched and marginalised topic - Peleg's book is a key contribution to our understanding of children, development and rights. In providing a much-needed justification and critical account of this right, Peleg outlines a highly original and inter-disciplinary conception of development, thereby pushing the boundaries of human rights scholarship.' Aoife Nolan, University of Nottingham and Member, Council of Europe European Committee of Social Rights 'There is a serious deficit both in conceptualisation, and understanding of the child's right to development, as well as its synergy with other rights. The intellectual rigour with which these issues are argued in this book makes it an important and accessible resource to a diverse group of professionals that are working towards the creation of a world that is fit for children.' Benyam Dawit Mezmur, University of the Western Cape, South Africa and former Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 'The Child's Right to Development makes a remarkable contribution to the field of children's rights and legal scholarship. This monograph is rich, both in terms of its theoretical foundation and conceptual depth. Strengthened by Peleg's considerable archival analysis, it presents an innovative cross-disciplinary understanding of child development that leads to a more 'concrete interpretation of the child's right to development'. This monograph deserves a wide readership and has clear international appeal.' Dr Faith Gordon, Australian Journal of Human Rights 'The book offers a new conception of 'hybrid' childhood in which two existing interpretations - one focused on children's future as adults, the other on their present situation as children, which come together to combine children's right to dignity and agency with their right to development as a process of growth. Drawing on the paradigm of capability, it also suggests a new reading of the right to development as one of the four guiding principles of the CRC.' Urszula Markowska-Manista, Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law 'The Child's Right to Development makes a significant contribution not only to legal studies and international human rights law but to conceptual advancements in the field of childhood studies ... Peleg builds on key principles of childhood studies such as agency, participation, recognition and intersectionality to argue that there is no right way for a child to develop. The real contribution of the monograph lies in applying these important principles to broaden the scope of the CRC 'in order to create a coherent and meaningful interpretation of the right to development' [(p. 13)], which respects children's agency and the heterogeneity of childhood.' Antonia Canosa, Global Studies of Childhood 'The Child's Right to Development is remarkable, not only for its intellectual rigour and depth of analysis, but also the innovation it brings to the issues. The breadth of Peleg's research makes it a welcomed resource for child rights academics, practitioners, students - and indeed anyone interested in the field of child rights law. Presented in accessible and lucid prose, Peleg engages his readers, critically challenging our perceptions of children, childhood, and the journey into adulthood. He leaves us with an appreciation that, '[g]rowing up is something that children do, but it is not the only thing that they do, nor can it be the only thing that defines them: children participate in giving meaning to the complexity of their own childhood, which is not limited to the question of their future' (192).' Sheila Varadan, International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family 'This work ... is useful for those practitioners working to uphold the rights of children either in government or in the non-governmental and civil society sectors ... Peleg's work is a reminder that as human rights practitioners and educators we must continue to build a child-centred pedagogy, one which intentionally strives to amplify the voices of the young rather than regarding what they say as an afterthought. Undoubtedly, this requires work, but it is how we truly reimagine spaces that uphold child rights and child agency.' Marissa A. Gutierrez-Vicario, Human Rights Education Review