WUNRN

http://www.wunrn.com

 

THE AFRICAN GIRL CHILD

 

WORLD ORGANISATION AGAINST TORTURE - LIGUE ZONE AFRIQUE/ DEFENSE DES ENFANTS, ELEVES ET ETUDIANTS

DEFENCE FOR CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL DCI

 

2008 Day of the African Child - The participation of children:

Let children be seen and heard

Ensuring visibility of African child victims and children in conflict with the law

 

 

Geneva-Kinshasa-Kampala, June 16th 2008. Every 16 June since 1991, the day of the African Child[1][1] has been celebrated. This year the Day is dedicated to the right of the African child to participate, particularly to be seen and heard.

 

International law guarantees the respect of the views of the child. According to article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, this includes the right of the child to be heard and have his or her view given due weight in any judicial and administrative proceeding affecting him or her. It is also interesting to notice that, in the framework of the African Charter on the Right and Welfare of the Child, article 4 on the best interests of the child provides for the right of the African child to have his or her view considered in all proceedings affecting him or her.

 

However, despite efforts to enable child participation in the democratisation process of African countries, the full implementation of the child’s right to participate remains largely unachieved for many children. Two categories of children particularly suffer from this violation: child victims of violence and children in conflict with the law.

 

In Africa, numerous children are victims of violence at home, in schools and care institutions, on the streets, in the workplace and in prisons. Despite the seriousness of the situation, much violence is hidden and child victims remain largely invisible in society.

 

This is firstly due to an under-reporting of violence against children. A large proportion of child victims do not report violence essentially because they do not know their rights and the fact that they are entitled to get protection in cases of violation of such rights. In addition, some forms of common and

traditional violent treatment might be considered as acceptable and normal punishment even by the children themselves.

 

In the rare instances where children denounce the violence they have suffered, access to effective support remains limited. According to recent information from Defence for Children International (DCI)-Uganda and LIZADEEL, it is not uncommon for child victims of sexual violence such as rape and defilement to be treated without any respect for their dignity and any consideration for their pain. In Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, police investigating procedures are often humiliating for those victims, thus contributing to re-victimization. For instance, since sexual violence against older children, in particular girls, is less clearly recognised as an abuse, law enforcement officers regularly demonstrate a passive attitude to victims reporting such crimes. In addition, where the police are involved in resolving a dispute in cases where a child has been the victim of violence, the practice is to exclude the child victim from the discussions and therefore fail to take his or her best interests into account. The corruption of police officers and judges also contributes to this problem. The alternative role of the community-level institutions is not able to fill this gap either since such institutions suffer from poor management and training.

 

These attitudes hamper access to the necessary means of physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of African child victims of violence. In most cases, medical and psychosocial services and counselling for child victims are not provided by State entities but by inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations. However, the overall level of resources remains insufficient to ensure free access to physical and psychological support for victims and many victims receive no help at all. Therefore, in order to make recovery and reintegration effective for African child victims, African States must now start to really consider those children and their needs which includes hearing and seeing them.

 

In respect of children accused of or recognized as having infringed the criminal law, the right to be heard is a fundamental element of the guarantees of fair trial. In this regard however, access to justice for many African children remains a serious challenge. In Africa, when a child is accused of having infringed the criminal law, the police may settle the case informally. This in itself violates the right of a child to a fair trial as it excludes all legal safeguards. In particular, accused children can rarely express their views and are denied the right to have legal assistance. Excluding children from the procedures that concern them often lead to inappropriate measures being taken which are contrary to the best interests of the child.[2][2] In many African countries, the juvenile justice system, when it exists, does not sufficiently consider the child as the protagonist of the procedure.

 

In addition, the right for children in conflict with the law to access justice and therefore to participate into the procedures that concern them also faces logistical constraints. For instance, according to information from DCI-Uganda, there are currently over 168 juveniles at Naguru remand home in Kampala who have not been taken to court because of transport impediments.

 

This situation which adversely affects a lot of African children shows that the promotion and respect of the right to be heard and seen is a necessary step in improving the global protection of all children, particularly the most vulnerable. The adoption of laws on child protection is not sufficient without securing the appropriate finance and ensuring follow-up. In this perspective, OMCT, LIZADEEL and DCI-Uganda urge African governments to take action to fully protect all African children and particularly to:

-          increase resource allocations to bodies dealing with children at all levels, from social ministries to local communities;

-          fight against corruption;

-          train and sensitize national and local personnel working with children;

-          set up justice systems that are likely to protect children from any violation of their fundamental rights.

 

Contacts:

 

At international level:

OMCT, Cécile Trochu Grasso, ct@omct.org        www.omct.org

 

At regional/national level:

Uganda: DCI-Uganda, Mr. John Ssenyonga, dciug@yahoo.com

Democratic Republic of Congo: LIZADEEL, Emery Nkanka, lizadeel2@hotmail.com






================================================================
To leave the list, send your request by email to: wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com. Thank you.


[1][1] “In Soweto, South Africa, thousands of black school children took to the streets in 1976, in a march more than half a mile long, to protest the inferior quality of their education and to demand their right to be taught in their own language. Hundreds of young boys and girls were shot down; and in the two weeks of protest that followed, more than a hundred people were killed and more than a thousand were injured. To honour the memory of those killed and the courage of all those who marched, the Day of the African Child has been celebrated on 16 June every year since 1991, when it was first initiated by the Organization of African Unity. The Day also draws attention to the lives of African children today.” (Source: UNICEF)

[2][2] See for example : OMCT, Un rapport alternatif présenté au Comité des droits de l’homme : La violence Etatique au Benin, janvier 2005.