AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

Mapping CHILDEX and its Indicators: A Geographic Distribution of the Children’s International Rights Index


The violation of children's human rights represents one of the most serious contemporary threats to peace. UNICEF has generated data suggesting that children's issues constitute one of the lowest priorities for the international community, thereby aggravating potential long-term world-wide conflicts. Not surprisingly, there is a poor understanding about the factors that influence children's human rights violations. In order to contribute to its explanation, a composite Children's International Rights Index (CHILDEX) was developed. The CHILDEX is based on 13 indicators ranging from child labour to recruitment in armies and irregular groups. The objective of this study was to map CHILDEX to identify geographical areas with high incidence of children's human rights violations. Additionally, data from IGO's were analyzed with a Multiple Regression to identify which of the independent variables (i.e., human development and liberty) is the best explanatory variable of children's rights violations. The International Children's Human Rights Map (CHILDMAP) will generate various sources of information including the CHILDEX and associated indicators for each country, and the explanatory variable. One of the applications of this map is that it will allow us to identify specific country cases that may require greater intervention and analysis to improve children's human rights.