“Viejos" y "nuevos" derechos del niño. Un enfoque teórico

The article analyzes some theoretical issues that arise from the process of “specification” of the human rights in relation to children. The author takes into consideration both “old” children’s rights, that is, the first rights to have obtained legal recognition, as well as “new” rights, those abscrived to children by the Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989. The first refer to social rights (such the right to health or education), which content is determined by “positives” duties of third parties. The second refer to the enjoyment of certain liberties – of expression, of thought, of religion, of protection of private life –, which are usually understood as the object of "negative" rights. In both cases, the purpose is to underline how the relationship between children and rights is, even if problematic, theoretically useful insofar as it allows to question the liberal conception of human rights, at least in its more traditional version.