Child Rights

Definition of terms

Human Rights refers to any basic right or freedom to which all human beings are entitled to and in whose exercise a government may not interfere

Child Abuse refers to any form of physical, sexual, psychological and metal injury to a child

Child Neglect means deprivation of the rights of the child – failure of caretakers to provide adequate emotional and physical care for a child

Child labor refers to any situation where a child provides labor in exchange for payment, Need: A need is something you cannot do without.

Ratification refers to making something valid by formally confirming it.

Types of human needs

Physiological
Psychological

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)

UNCRC was developed in 1989. In 1990, Kenya Government ratified the Convection of the Right of the Child being the 20th Country.

Reporting procedures of UNCRC

Each country after signing and ratifying the UN Convection is under an obligation to report to UNCRC committee, which is charged with monitoring compliance with, and implementation of UNCRC.

A country is supposed to give a report 2 years after signing and every 5 years thereafter.

The report should be a representative of all stakeholders. In case of conflicting views from civil society a supplementary report should be forwarded to the committee while resolving the conflict.

Kenya was late in sending the report in 1992, having ratified the convection in 1990. No report was forwarded after 5 years i.e. 1997 as required by UNCRC committee. Kenya sent a combined report in 1998 that is after 7 years.

A lot has been done in Kenya towards domesticating UNCRC resulting to children’s Act 2002 that translates UNCRC into a legislature item in Kenya.

The children’s Act 2001

Background

The date of assent: 31st December 2001 Date of commencement: 1st March, 2002

The enactment of Children’s Act of 2001 gives effect to the obligations of Kenya under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Children (ACRWC).

It is an Act of Parliament to make provision for parental responsibility, fostering, adoption, custody, maintenance, guardianship, care and protection of children, to make provision for the administration of children’s institutions

Provides for the rights of the child and seeks to enhance the welfare of the child Merges the provision of other laws that affect children: adoption Act;

Guardianship of the Infants, Children and Young Persons

Rights: right is what a human being deserves or entitlement is by law or heritage. They are those things that are important for the well-being of every human being. A right is not something that someone gives you; it is something that no body can take away. They are God given.

The four broad categories of children’s right

The concept of UNCRC was set up in 1989 as a standard agreement that set basic standards for children’s well being. The convention contains 54 articles articulated in 4 broad categories. These include:

1. The Right to Life and Survival

There are four sub-categories of the Right to Life and Survival. They are:

Right to medical care

This involves treatment when children are sick
Getting immunized against diseases like measles, T.B. tetanus, whooping cough, Diphtheria and Polio

The right to nutrition: A well balanced meal contains

Proteins e.g. meat, beans, eggs, fish, milk
Carbohydrates such as potatoes, rice, cassava, maize meal etc.
Vitamins obtained from fruits, green vegetables etc
Fats and oils

The right to Shelter

A house should be well ventilated
A house should be, spacious enough
The family should feel secure in the house they are living in

Right to clothing

Clothes should be:

Warm
Not too tight
Decent

2. The Right Development

Children have the right to develop physically, mentally, emotionally, socially and spiritually.

There are five sub-categories in this area:

Right to education: Education provides knowledge and prepares one in the field of work and to be able to interact effectively with others
Right to play and leisure: They need to be allowed to play and have fun and to have time for relaxation. This would enhance the physical aspect that would enhance education and life in general.
Right to parental care
Right to access to information
Right to social security

3. The right to protection

It children’s right to be protected against:

Exploitation e.g. child labor
Drug Abuse ( e.g. tobacco, bang, khat)
Discrimination on the basis of color, status, disability, religion, tradition
Disaster: Examples of Natural Disasters: floods, drought, earthquake, Man made e.g. war, fire, bomb-blast
Abuse and neglect e.g. Physical abuse e.g. canning, smacking, FGM
Emotional abuse e.g. name calling, and abandonment
Loss of identity: all children should have a name
Refugees – they need refugee status
Sexual abuse – e.g. rape, incest, sexual harassment, sodomy, early marriage, and child prostitution

4. The Right to Participation

The Right to participation sub-categories entails that children are entitled to:

Free association: for example freedom to form ROC club
Thought and opinion: freedom to think and present their opinions like activities they want to engage in ROC club to the school
Contribution: g. songs, poems, during school functions at the community level etc.

Underlying Principles for the Rights and Welfare of the Child

These rights are to be practiced with the following principles:

Best interest of the child
Non-discrimination
Participation, leisure and recreational
Survival and development
Respect for the views of children

Duties and Responsibilities of the Child Work for the unity of the family Respect his parents and elders National responsibility

Preserve and strengthen cultural values

Rights versus Responsibilities

The African Convention of the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) adapted in July 1990 by the Assembly of African Heads of State and Government recognized Rights and Responsibilities. Every child has Rights and a Responsibility towards others i.e. family, the society and the state, thus all Rights must be accompanied by Responsibilities for effective integration of child Rights in the community. Responsibilities are tasks to be performed e.g. doing homework, respecting parents, washing clothes and so on as demonstrated in the table below.

THE RIGHT TO LIFE AND SURVIVAL
RIGHT	EXAMPLES OF RESPONSIBILITIES
THE RIGHT TO NUTRITION	To eat a balanced diet
	To preserve food
	To help in the preparation of the food
	To clean the house
	To wash utensils
THE RIGHT TO SHELTER	To clean the house
	To open the windows airing
	To arrange the house
	To repair broken things in the house
THE RIGHT TO MEDICAL CARE	Take medicine as instructed by a doctor.
	to keep medicine out of reach of children
	Visit doctors when appointed
	To take medicine when instructed
THE RIGHT TO CLOTHING	Take care of our clothes

THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT

THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION	To obey teachers
	To keep time
	To be disciplined
	To work hard in school
	Not to miss classes
	Complete home works
	To attend to school duties
THE RIGHT TO PARENTAL LOVE	To love our parents

AND CARE	To help parents in home chores
	To obey our Parents
	Love your siblings
	To be disciplined
	To appreciate love given to us by parents
THE RIGHT TO PLAY AND LEISURE	To play with your friends
	To share playing equipments like balls and
	toys
	To observe time not to use all our free time
	on playing and forget other issues
	To follow the rules of the games we play
THE RIGHT TO SOCIAL SECURITY	To report cases of insecurity
	To avoid dangerous places
	To avoid bad company
	To maintain law and order
	To cooperate with security personnel
THE RIGHT TO ACCESS INFORMATION	To ask questions to gain information
	To acquire the right information
	To share information with others
	To use the information appropriately
	To know the information that would benefit
	us
RIGHT TO PROTECTION

THE RIGHT TO PROTECTION	Repot those peddling drugs
FROM DRUGS	Abstain from any kind of drug abuse
	Know the effects of drugs
	Take medicine for intended use only
	Avoid bad company
THE RIGHT TO PROTECTION	Go to school
FROM EXPLOI TATION	Say no to exploitation
	Report those exploiting children
	Not to exploit others
THE RIGHT TO PROTECTION	Say no to discrimination
FROM DISCRIMINATION	Report those discriminating against others
	Treat both boys and girls equally

	Tech other on the importance of equality
THE RIGHT TO PROTECTION	Report any case of abuse or neglect
FROM ABUSE AND NEGLECT	Not to abuse or neglect others
THE RIGHT TO PROTECTION	Avoid dark or lonely roads
FROM SEXUAL ABUSE	Report any abuse or threat that could lead to
	abuse
	Clothe ourselves decently to avoid sending
	wrong signals
	Say no to early marriages
	Don’t accept presents from strangers
	Don’t stay in secluded places
THE RIGHT TO PROTECTION	Care for those affected by disaster
FROM DISASTER	Support those affected by disasters
	Learn more on disaster management to help
	ourselves and others
THE RIGHT TO PROTECTION	To take care of identification documents
FROM LOSS OF IDENTITY	Use the names as they are in identification
	documents
	Not to give others funny nick-names
THE RIGHT TO PROTECTION OF	To show love and care to refugees
REFUGEES	To support refugees by giving foodstuffs or
STATUS	clothing


RIGHT TO PARTICIPATION
THE RIGHT TO THOUGHT AND		To respect other peoples thoughts and opinions
OPINION		Share our thoughts and opinions with others
		Give other people a chance to express their
		thoughts and opinions
RIGHT TO CONTRIBUTION		To use appropriate language when contributing/
		no foul words
		To respect other peoples contributions
		To give other people a chance to contribute
		To give our honest contributions in all meetings
THE RIGHT TO FREE ASSOCIATION	To associate with others without discrimination
THE RIGHT TO FREE ASSOCIATION		Say no to discrimination

Life Skills and Values Associated with Child Right

Life Skills

Self-awareness
Self esteem
Empathy
Negotiations
Assertiveness
Decision-making
Critical thinking
Creative thinking
Effective communication

Values

Humility
Cooperation
Respect
Tolerance
Love
Responsibility
Honesty
Simplicity