ANU College of Law, The Australian National University, Australia.
Scand J Public Health. 2022 Aug;50(6):683-685. doi: 10.1177/14034948221081087. Epub 2022 Mar 23.
Epidemiological and physical safety issues form the core of the debate on whether children should be mandated to wear face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Largely absent from this debate are the crucial implications of international human rights law. Although the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund have different mask-wearing recommendations for children aged 0-5 years, 6-11 years, and 12+ years, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child applies to children of all ages. Children's human rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and other treaties require decision makers to tread particularly carefully when deciding whether to mandate mask-wearing for children. Special consideration must be given to the potential for any detrimental impact of mask-wearing on children's physical, psychological and psychosocial health and wellbeing. Other non-pharmaceutical interventions for children, such as physical distancing, good hand hygiene and improved indoor ventilation do not engage the legal complexities of mask-wearing and are a safer policy option for reducing SARS-CoV-2 transmission.
在关于儿童是否应该在 COVID-19 大流行期间强制戴口罩的争论中，流行病学和身体安全问题是核心。从这场争论中很大程度上缺失的是国际人权法的关键含义。尽管世界卫生组织和联合国儿童基金会对 0-5 岁、6-11 岁和 12 岁及以上的儿童有不同的戴口罩建议，但《儿童权利公约》适用于所有年龄段的儿童。根据《儿童权利公约》和其他条约，儿童的人权要求决策者在决定是否强制儿童戴口罩时要特别小心。必须特别考虑戴口罩对儿童身心健康和福祉可能产生的任何不利影响。对于儿童来说，其他非药物干预措施，如保持身体距离、良好的手部卫生和改善室内通风，不会涉及戴口罩的法律复杂性，是减少 SARS-CoV-2 传播的更安全政策选择。
