THE BEST INTERESTS PRINCIPLE: TOWARDS A RECONCILIATION OF CULTURE AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Abstract

The ‘universality’ to which international human rights standards aspire has been strongly contested in recent years. Nevertheless, the Convention on the Rights of the Child is likely to achieve near-universal ratification within the next year or two. This analysis uses the Convention, and especially Article 3(1), which incorporates the principle that, in all actions concerning children, ‘the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration’, to examine the broader relationship between culture and human rights.