Practices of a religion or belief in which a child is brought up must not be injurious to his or her physical or mental health or to his or her full development, taking into account Article 1, paragraph 3, of the present Declaration.

According to Article 1, paragraph 3 (1.3) of the 1981 U.N. Declaration, the State has the right to limit a religion or belief if they think it may be injurious to the physical or mental health of a child. This is based on the limitations clause that it be by law and be based on public safety, order, health, morals or fundamental freedoms. There is no definition of physical or mental health in the Declaration. Physical health is easiest to define, for instance parents who based on their religion may refuse blood transfusions for the child. More problematic is the term “mental health” and “full development” which are less amenable to objective assessment.

Related Examples

• Holy See: In 1994, the Holy See made a comment on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) by saying; “The Holy See, in conformity with the dispositions of Article 51 ratifies with the following reservations, we interpret the phrase family planning, education and services to mean only those methods of family planning which it considers morally acceptable, that is, natural methods of family planning.” 2 The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, while praising the constructive work of the Holy See in support of the CRC, expressed concern that insufficient attention was paid by them to development of preventive health care, guidance for parents and family planning and education services in light of the provisions of the Convention.

Learning Experiences

This is a learning experience in linking Article 3 to compare human rights instruments. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has 5 articles with references to religion or belief. Review the 5 articles then compare them to the reservation of the Holy See. Use paragraph eight of the General Comment on Article 18 of the ICCPR, a State may not depend on only one version of family planning as there are many philosophical, social and religious root sources of morality.

TOPIC NOTES

Term 5.1.5: States Rights to Protect Children

Practices of a religion or belief in which a child is brought up must not be injurious to his or her physical or mental health or to his or her full development, taking into account Article 1, Paragraph 3, of the present Declaration.

Interview health and public safety officials in your community to see if there are any cases in which a child had to be protected against the manifestation of a religion or belief based on the law, public safety, order, health, morals or fundamental freedoms. Summarize any cases in the community that may be reported in Section III Issues and Case Studies.

2. U.N. CRC/C/3/add.27 (1994). The Holy See, representing the Roman Catholic (Christian) Church, has a Permanent Mission to the U.N. as an observing Member State . As such, they are required to report to the U.N. Committee on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) as any other U.N. Member State that has ratified this legally-binding human rights instrument.