Child’s Rights And The Rest Of Us 

Children and young people constitute the greatest number of human beings on earth. In most parts of the world, especially Africa, some people live with the erroneous belief that children and young people are properties of their parents and relations. It is based on this erroneous assertion that certain basic human rights are denied them.
However, it is known that children and young people have the same general human rights as adults and also specific rights that recognize their special needs.
They are neither the property of their parents nor are they helpless objects of charity.  They are human beings and are the subject of their own rights.
It would be recalled that after the Second World War in 1945, the United Nations General Assembly accepted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.  This declaration paved the way for the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. This became the first legally binding international text to protect children’s rights.
Presently, children’s rights are the legal, social, economic, political, physical, and spiritual rights bestowed upon them by the 1989 Convention on the Rights of a Child .
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most accepted standard on children’s rights all around the world.
This has helped transform children’s lives over the years around the world. Yet, not every child gets to enjoy a full childhood because many of them are cut short.
The rights of the child are specific rights to protect all young people under the age of 18. These rights include the right to health, education, family life, play and recreation, an adequate standard of living and  protection from abuse and harm. Children’s rights cover their developmental age, appropriate needs that change over time as a child grows up.
It is for these reasons that the Convention on the Rights of the Child stipulate that all children’s rights must come under four general principles that include; non discrimination rights, where all children have the right to develop their potential in all situations, equal access to education for all children, no matter the gender, race, disability or religion.
Furthermore, the Convention stipulates that the best interest of the child must be a primary consideration in all actions and decisions concerning the child. A clear example should be for the Federal Government of Nigeria to deliberately make national  budgetary  commitment to increase budget for primary education in 2023 and beyond.
Thirdly, the right to survival and development underscores the vital importance of ensuring access to basic services and equality of opportunity for children to achieve their full development. For example,  children with  disabilities should have effective access to education and health care to achieve their full potentials.
The views of the child must be heard and respected in all matters concerning his or her rights. For example, those in power should consult and listen to children before making decisions that will affect them. There used to be Children’s Parliament, where they are given opportunities to air their views. Such views should not just be discarded, but sifted for the benefit of the children.
According to the United Nations International Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF), children have the right to the best health care possible, clean water to drink, healthy food and a clean and safe environment to live in.
In our societies, children should be made to enjoy the same human rights as everybody  else, from the right to freedom of expression to the right to privacy.  This infers that all human rights laws apply equally to children and adults.
Children must rely on adults for the nurture and  guidance they need to grow towards independence. Such nurture is ideally found from adults in children’s families but when primary adult caregivers cannot meet children’s needs, it is up to the state as the primary duty bearer to find an alternative in the best interests of the child.
A recent report released  by UNICEF suggested that children in the Netherlands are considered the happiest in the world.
The United Nation’s body prepared the report after analysing data from 41 high income countries based on children’s mental well-being, physical health, and the development of both academic and social skills. The Netherlands topped the chart of all three wellbeing outcomes, followed by Denmark and Norway, respectively.
The report stated clearly that the country’s earnings, education, housing and health status are some of the major reasons that make the country a better place to live for children, making it the best country in the world to raise children.
The Netherlands as a country focuses more on social security and social services. The  benefits that people get there are amazing and the way the government helps keep families together acts as a boost in keeping a ‘family ‘ intact and in return a child  happy.
Here, in Nigeria, according to the Child’s Rights Act 2003, which expands the human rights bestowed to children include the right to survival and development, to move,for freedom of association and peaceful assembly, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, to private and family life,freedom of movement, freedom from discrimination ,to dignity of a child, to leisure, recreation and cultural activities to health and health services, to parental care protection and maintenance.
Also, it includes, rights of a child to free compulsory and universal primary education, of a child in need of special protection against harm, contractual rights of a child, responsibilities of a child and parent to provide guidance with respect to child’s responsibilities.
The Child’s Right Act 2003 further provides for punishment for child marriage and betrothal, child trafficking, use of children in criminal activities, abduction, exploitative labour, forms of sexual abuse and exploitation, tattoos and skin marks, harmful publication, exposition to narcotic drugs and psycho – tropic substance, recruitment of children into armed forces, amongst other exploitations and unlawful engagements of a child.
The law also provides for the immediate provision of safe foster care and shelter for a child  endangered  in his or her immediate environment.
Unfortunately, the Federal Government and most state governments are not enforcing the Act, as children are still exposed to most of the activities that are detrimental to their wellbeing.
Meanwhile,Rivers State and several states including  the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have adopted the Child’s Right Act. However, it is even most unfortunate that some states in Nigeria are yet to adopt the Act and make it functional in their states.
Rivers State has gone a step further by international protection of children in developing a Safe Home for vulnerable children.
The Safe Home Project is intended to provide effective institutional support for the Rivers State Child’s Rights Law 2009 and Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law 2020.The  Home which provides temporary accommodation for victims of  sexual and  domestic violence will not only provide citizens of the state protective custody but would also afford them a good opportunity at getting justice.

By: Ibinabo Ogolo