AL SJR65

Alabama Legislature condemns the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and urges the U.S. Senate to reject ratification.

Resolution asserts that parental rights to direct children's upbringing are fundamental constitutional rights that would be threatened by the treaty becoming supreme law under the Supremacy Clause.

Contends the treaty would grant the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child binding interpretive authority over U.S. laws and shift child welfare legislation from states to Congress.

Resolution identifies six specific objections to the treaty: banning parental corporal punishment, allowing government review of parental decisions without proving harm, overriding religious upbringing choices, reviewing education decisions, requiring costly socialized spending programs, and granting children enforceable rights contrary to American traditions.

Senate adopted the resolution on April 19, 2011, and the House adopted it on April 21, 2011, with copies directed to be sent to all U.S. Senators.