Beyond rhetoric: Delivering on the promise of Day of the African Child

The DAC provides an opportunity to encourage state parties to the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) to ‘eliminate social and cultural practices affecting the welfare, dignity, normal growth and development of a child.’ This is particularly important because many children are vulnerable to harmful practices such as female genital mutilation, forced and child marriage, honour killings etc.

The responsibility for protecting the right is a collective one. Therefore, states, governmental and non governmental institutions must intensify efforts at informing the public about the vulnerability of the child and therefore the imperative for protecting them as a means of preserving our future.

Beyond information, proactive steps ought to be taken to address some of the rights violations children confront today. It is gratifying that the African Union recognizes this and prioritizes preventing and/or addressing violence against children; harmonization of laws; institutional frameworks; collaboration between stakeholders and the need for data collection and research for this year’s celebrations. While these are critical, they must be accompanied by a robust regime of monitoring, reporting and follow-up by civil society, government and the Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

Violations of the rights of children could easily go unnoticed but for monitoring and reporting. In cultures where silence is considered a virtue, governmental and non-governmental institutions must assist the child by prying into what happens often behind closed doors. Sometimes rights violators get away with the impression that no questions will be asked. We can demystify this idea by interrogation any unusual treatment of a child. The traditional African society prides itself in looking out for the welfare of the community, not just individual families. We have to transfer that culture to children.

Institutions that receive reports of rights violations involving children require skills to be able to process reports, ask the right questions and take appropriate action. Often this is a matter of life and death. State parties therefore need to pay closer attention to law enforcement. The best laws in the world only go as far as law enforcement is able to drive them. Therefore, law enforcement officers must be trained to understand the peculiarities of enforcing laws relating to children. Effective oversight of law enforcement is also important to ensure that officers who knowingly violate acceptable standards are sanctioned

The judiciaries of state parties must also prepare themselves to deal with complaints arising from harmful social and traditional practices. This preparation ought to include dealing with prejudices about children, which often constrain some magistrates and judges from applying the law decisively. In some jurisdictions, child-sensitive administrative/quasi-judicial institutions have been established to deal with child specific cases. State parties who can afford this model must be encouraged to adopt it. Where they cannot afford the model, steps must be taken to include child rights experts in the adjudicatory process – even if in advisory capacity.

Where state judiciaries fail to deliver justice, victims may approach the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC). The ACERWC is a group of experts charged with the responsibility of monitoring and reporting on the fulfilment of the rights of children in Africa. Established by virtue of articles 32-46 of the ACRWC, the ACERWC receives and considers state party reports; individual complaints by state parties; undertakes investigative or fact finding missions; interprets the provisions of the ACRWC and sets rules, principles and standards governing children’s rights and welfare through general comments, resolutions and declarations. Forty six of fifty four states have ratified the ACRWC and are therefore subject to the jurisdiction of the ACERWC. To ensure the Committee delivers on its mandate, state parties must respect and implement its decisions.

Whilst it is a good idea to remind ourselves every June 16 of the obligations we owe to children on the continent, it is better to go beyond the speeches and rhetoric by promoting a culture of respect for and protection of the rights of these children whether they live in Cairo, Cape Town or anywhere in-between.

* Stanley Ibe is a human rights attorney in Abuja, Nigeria