Unit 2: Criminal Law

CHAPTER 10: THE YOUTH JUSTICE SYSTEM

E-ACTIVITY: YOUTH JUSTICE AND THE UN CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD (p. 285)

Activity: Debate the Issue of Hockey Violence

Activity: Draw a Cartoon Storyboard to Illustrate Youth Justice in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

The United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by UN member nations in 1989, is the most important international human rights document to focus on the interests of children. What is this document and what does it mean to children? How does the UN attempt to communicate with children about their rights? How does it aim to protect youths who are in conflict with the law? How does it compare with our own Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

In this activity, you will learn more about the convention, find out what aspects of the convention apply directly to youth justice, and finally create a cartoon storyboard to illustrate one youth justice right that has been enshrined in the convention.

1. Begin by finding out more about the convention by visiting UNICEF’s Web site about child rights.
   • How many countries in the world have signed this convention?
   • Why is the convention important?
   • What does the convention mean to children?
   • What, generally, does it guarantee?
2. Look at the specific articles in the convention that relate to the rights of children that come in conflict with the laws of their country. Visit the “Special Protections” page on the UNICEF Web site and scroll down to “b. Children in conflict with the law.” This section identifies the special protection measures that are afforded children in conflict with the law in Articles 37, 39, and 40. Click on “Article 37 (a), (b), (c) and (d),” “article 39,” and “article 40” to go to the sections in the actual convention. Using the organizer below, record your interpretation of the meaning of each article section cited. Click here to download the organizer.

3. Compare the rights you identified in your organizer with those you have studied in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Identify any similarities.
   
4. Establishing a convention about children’s rights is just the first step in improving children’s lives. How do you communicate with children who speak many different languages to educate them about their rights? The people at UNICEF have banded together with animators from around the world to create 30-second animated cartoons, with music but no words, to teach children about their rights. Each cartoon focuses on a different right in the convention. Visit the UNICEF Web page to learn more about this program. Click on “Flash Animation” to see one sample cartoon, or “Online Cartoons” to view more.

   Choose one of the youth justice rights that you identified in your organizer. Draw a storyboard for a cartoon to communicate that right to a child. The simplest rights would probably work best. For your storyboard, sketch each scene of your cartoon, with additional notes if necessary (for example, to indicate what background music or additional sounds would be required). In keeping with the UNICEF cartoons, only the final scene contains written words-the right being illustrated.