ABSTRACT
In the previous chapter I claimed that while we have no right to liberty as such, we have a right to - i.e. we should be allowed to - take part in the making of decisions that affect our lives and in the debate about how our society is run. I did not specify who 'we' are, and in this chapter will be considering whether children should be included amongst the right-holders, and if so, whether their rights differ significantly from those of adults. The subject of children's rights is one on which there has been much disagreement and confusion, some caused by different interpretations of what rights are and some by different views of how children should be treated. The problems fall into three broad areas: first there are the problems of rights in general, which were considered in the previous chapter; secondly, the question of whether children are the sort of beings who can have rights; and thirdly, if they are, there is the question of what rights they have.
