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Transforming Children’s Rights into Real Freedom: A Dialogue Between Children’s Rights and the Capability Approach from a Life Cycle Perspective

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Children’s Rights and the Capability Approach

Part of the book series: Children’s Well-Being: Indicators and Research ((CHIR,volume 8))

Abstract

This chapter has two main aims. The first is to explore the relationships and synergies between the capability approach (CA) and the human rights approach (HRA) in the case of children. The second is to investigate if it is possible to analyse and to translate into practice this relationship using equity, participatory and life cycle perspectives.

The chapter finds relevant links and synergies between HRA and the CA. These two opportunity oriented approaches, although different, dialogue and complement each other. In particular the HRA can call attention to the child deprivations in the ‘process freedom’, while the CA can concentrate on their causes and assessment. These potential positive synergies between rights and capabilities reveal also some interesting policy implications.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For proposals and discussions on how to complement the two approaches see, for instance, Sen (2004, 2005) and Nussbaum (2003). Attempts to link the CA and the HRA have been developed for adults by Nussbaum (1997), UNDP (2000), White (2002), OHCHR (2004), Alexander (2004) and Vizard and Burchardt (2007, 2011). For a tentative attempt to include participatory methods in the HRA, see Jonsson (2003). Recently, see the papers of Dixon and Nussbaum (2012) and Stoecklin and Bonvin (2014).

  2. 2.

    Being able to influence decisions that affect an individual is one of the defining characteristics of human rights principles. When it comes to designing opportunities for them to participate, conditions need to be adjusted in accordance with a child’s age and maturity (Article 5, UNCRC 1989).

  3. 3.

    Capability is defined as “the various combinations of functionings (beings and doings) that the person can achieve. Capability is, thus, a set of vectors of functionings, reflecting the person’s freedom to lead one type of life or another … to choose from possible livings” (Sen 1992, p. 40).

  4. 4.

    In practice, no child has participated in drafting the Convention (Lewis 1998; Feeny and Boyden 2004) and, more generally, the rights international conventions follow a top-down fashion (Harris-Short 2003; Lewis 1998), without roots at local level. Baraldi (2009), for instance, underlines that amongst over 40 articles, only one concerns participation, while all others are about the control of children.

  5. 5.

    Feeny and Boyden 2004, p. 18.

  6. 6.

    Sen 2007, p. 9.

  7. 7.

    Lansdown 2001, p. 2.

  8. 8.

    Nussbaum (2006, p. 284).

  9. 9.

    In the end, both perspectives refer to basic standards of humanity that should be fulfilled in the process of development and that need to be secured for the most vulnerable (Nussbaum 2006). Very important linkages between the HRA and the CA in the case of children have recently been outlined in the paper of Dixon and Nussbaum (2012).

  10. 10.

    Karkara 2011, p. 17.

  11. 11.

    Karkara 2011, p. 23.

  12. 12.

    Sen 2007, p. 8.

  13. 13.

    Sen 2007, p. 5.

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Acknowledgements

This chapter is the fruit of an encouraging and ongoing debate with several scholars. During this period we have been privileged to receive comments and suggestions from a large number of people, all of which have been very useful to us. In particular, we would like to thank: Caterina Arciprete, Jerome Ballet, Nicolò Bellanca, Sara Bonfanti, Sandra Boni, Jean-Michel Bonvin, Enrica Chiappero-Martinetti, Federico Ciani, David A. Clark, Flavio Comim, Michela Da Rodda, Francesca D’Erasmo, Alex Apsan Frediani, Cristina Devecchi, Diego Di Masi, Maria Laura Di Tommaso, Jean-Luc Dubois, Andrea Ferrannini, Alex A. Frediani, Des Gasper, Caroline Hart, Vittorio Iervese, Leonardo Menchini, Ayacx Mercedes, Giuliana Parodi, Altair Rodriguez, Marina Santi, Daniel Stoecklin, Lorella Terzi, Elaine Unterhalter, Polly Vizard and Melanie Walker. Furthermore, organisers of the workshops within the Thematic group on Children Capabilities of the Human Development and Capability Association are thankfully acknowledged.

We have benefited of comments and suggestions by the participants of two relevant conferences on these issues where we both were invited as keynote speakers: the International Conference on “Human Development and Human Rights: Two decades of advancement, What’s next for Children and youth? Agency and participation for enhancing equity”, organised jointly by UNICEF and UNDP at Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 27–29th October 2011 and the Scientific Meeting on “Children rights and children capability approach: standpoints and prospects” at IUKB – Institut Universitaire Kurt Bösch, Sion, Switzerland 5–6th July 2012.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics and Management, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

    Mario Biggeri

  2. Youth (Global), United Nations Human Settlements Programme, Youth and Livelihoods, Urban Economy Branch, UN-HABITAT, New York, USA

    Ravi Karkara

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  1. Mario Biggeri
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Correspondence to Mario Biggeri .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University Institute Kurt Bösch (IUKB), Sion, Switzerland

    Daniel Stoecklin

  2. Univ. of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Jean-Michel Bonvin

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Biggeri, M., Karkara, R. (2014). Transforming Children’s Rights into Real Freedom: A Dialogue Between Children’s Rights and the Capability Approach from a Life Cycle Perspective. In: Stoecklin, D., Bonvin, JM. (eds) Children’s Rights and the Capability Approach. Children’s Well-Being: Indicators and Research, vol 8. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9091-8_2

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