Battleangel

At least someone is bringing the issue into focus, albeit in a starstruck fashion. Again, the US doesn’t seem to have much luck selecting their goodwill ambassadors in terms of picking good mouthpieces that will relay official state propaganda. And the Rights of the Child convention is of course only one among gazillions that the US has refused to either sign or ratify.

Sunday Times - Hollywood actor and child-rights campaigner Angelina Jolie says she is ashamed that the US still has not signed a UN charter on protecting children’s rights.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jolie - a UN goodwill ambassador - said: “I am absolutely ashamed Washington has not formally ratified the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

“Being an American I think it’s horrible. I think Congress should ratify that. If we really care about that, how dare we not ratify it?”

The US signed the convention in 1995, but, apart from Somalia, is the only country not to have ratified the treaty.

For the record it should be noted that at least in the past, the reason Somalia didn’t ratify the convention was that they had no recognized government. There can be no downside to just ratifying the damn paper, and even though the US blames due process, this makes them stand out as arrogant and reluctant to agree to international standards, no matter how basic they indeed are. It is hard to see the logic here. Except of course for the fact that the US must fill its UN-rivalry quota and can’t appear to appease the organization for its own selfish geopolitical reasons.