Best Interest Assessment

For anyone who is interested in human rights, thinking about the rights of the child is a fundamental starting theme. The word child refers to a human being between the stages of birth to a certain age although it differs from one society to another. Generally, the upper age limit for a human being to be referred as a child is 18 in many societies. Traditionally, caring for children starts in the family where a mother plays a central role in the child's overall development. Gradually, the concept of 'the rights of the child' have come about with the emergence of modern diverse society and complex family forms. Many international human rights treaties may have been used as guidance to protect the rights of the child. However, it is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which was adopted in 1989, that sets the framework for the protection of the rights of the child. A central element of this act is protection of the child's 'best interest'. Best Interest Assessment (BIA) is basically evaluation of all the elements necessary to make a decision about a …show more content…
These reservations might have helped the United Kingdom from making unfavorable new amendments in its immigration laws and ensures respect to national laws despite being unfair to refugee children. There is no doubt that a narrow view towards the rights of children from perspective of national interest challenges international humanitarian laws and norms. The discrimination of children from ownership of certain rights based on some selected grounds is against the international human rights norms (Hammarberg, 1995; International, 1998; CRC, 1989; Fottrell, 2001). Moreover, article 19 of Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) vividly outlines that states can reserve while signing a treaty except