This open access book presents a discussion on human rights-based attributes for each article pertinent to the substantive rights of children, as defined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). It provides the reader with a unique and clear overview of the scope and core content of the articles, together with an analysis of the latest jurisprudence of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. For each article of the UNCRC, the authors explore the nature and scope of corresponding State obligations, and identify the main features that need to be taken into consideration when assessing a State’s progressive implementation of the UNCRC.

Children's diverse experiences during periods of conflict, post-conflict and peacetime reveal that their roles in society and political communities are complex. Based on this premise, this book suggests that understanding children's roles involves a critical analysis of where the child is situated within her/his family, within socio-political networks and within the state. Through examining various case studies in South Asia, a region that is marked as much by its homogeneity as by its immense diversity, the book observes that significant tensions exist between universal and local approaches to childhood. It reflects how the development of international and national discourses on children's rights and protection is relevant to children's everyday lives in situations of conflict.