This volume provides a critical survey from the visions which informed the text agreed in the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989 to contemporary and ongoing efforts towards implementation. With contributions by leading experts in the field, the book is organised in two parts. The first discusses progress, dilemmas and debates about the CRC as an international instrument. The second examines issues of implementation at national and regional levels. This book will be a valuable resource for students, researchers and policy-makers working in the area of children's rights and welfare.