Do abandoned children have the right to know their origins?

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000

It has become common practice in the United States, Europe, and worldwide for governments to provide baby boxes or “safe surrender” sites, usually near hospitals, where mothers or relatives of unwanted newborns may abandon them anonymously, so that they may be cared for by others and eventually adopted. Such programs are intended to prevent infanticide and deaths from infant abandonment and have succeeded in doing so around the world. Despite this success, the United Nations has called the provision of baby boxes into question.

Do such programs violate the human rights of the abandoned babies? The obvious answer is no, since the service provides desperate mothers an alternative to infanticide or unsafe abandonment. In fact, baby boxes appear to promote children’s right to life, as described in Article 6 of The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

What is the UN General Assembly, anyway?

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 20:56:00 +0000

With the crisis in Syria hitting new levels of urgency and unrest across the Middle East and beyond, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last week foretold a busy September for the UN's member nations.

"This year’s General Debate will be among our busiest ever. This reflects the tumultuous time in which we live — a time of turmoil and transition,” he said.

The General Debate is part of the UN General Assembly, a series of annual meetings where the countries who comprise the UN hammer out major decisions on some of the world's most tangled problems.

What is the UNGA?

The United Nations General Assembly is a forum of all of the members of the United Nations that takes place for several months each year. Held in New York, the annual convening of member states allows the UN to address the most pressing global issues of the moment.

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Do abandoned children have the right to know their origins?

What is the UN General Assembly, anyway?