CPS Children's Rights and Responsibilities Presentation Marondera 2022

Children’s Rights &
Responsibilities
Who is a Child?
 Children's Act: Anyone below the age of 16 yrs
 Education Act: All children in the school register.
Age not important
 Legal Age of Majority Act: All who are below the
age of 18 yrs
 Criminal Codification and Reform Act: All who are
below the age of 16 yrs
 Labor Act: All who are below the age of 16 yrs
 Traditionally: All who origins and/or still reside at
the family homestead under the authority of the
father.
What are Rights?
 Rights can be defined as inalienable
entitlements or interests that are agreed upon
as necessary claims for everyone based on
human nature, need and aspirations. Can also
be seen as standards by which a country’s
people are supposed to live.
 They are not negotiable, earned, bought or
inherited. People are entitled to them
regardless of age, race, origins, religion or sex.
Why Children’s Rights
 Children are a special group in the
communities because they are young,
vulnerable, inexperienced and in need of
protection. The concept of children having
rights f their own is relatively new as it was
only in 1989 that the first treaty specially
designed for them was culminated.
 Promoting, respecting and protecting
Children’s rights ensures that they survive,
grow and develop to their full potential.
Reference to Children’s rights
Although there are several other Human Rights Treaties
that look into the issues of children, there are two major
documents that focus on children:
1. United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
(1989)-54 articles
2. African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of Children
(1991)-48 articles
Zimbabwe is a signatory to both treaties. The country has
also ratified the conventions. These actions mean that
Government has committed itself to promote, protect and
fulfill the rights of its children. It is therefore obligated to
apply the following principles
Principles of Children’s rights
Non-discrimination
 Children must not suffer discrimination irrespective of their
own/their parents or legal guardian’s race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin,
property, disability, birth or any other status.

Maximum Survival and development
 All possible measures and efforts should be placed to ensure that to the
maximum extent possible, the survival and development of children is
guaranteed.

Principles of Children’s rights
Best interest of the child
 In all decisions and actions that affect a child, the best
interest of the child must be of primary consideration

irrespective of whether the decisions are made by the
government, administrative or judicial authorities or by
families. The child should always come first.

Participation-child’s opinion
 Children should be facilitated to participate at all levels
of our society; right from the home to the international

arena. They should be allowed to form and air their
opinions especially in issues that concern them.
Characteristics of UNCRC
 The UNCRC has the following characteristics:

 It is Comprehensive. It guarantees children their civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights.
 It is universal. It applies to all children of the world
irrespective of their situations, communities and
traditions.
 It is unconditional. It calls on all governments even
those without resources, to take action to protect
children’s rights.
 It is holistic. It asserts that all rights are essential and
equal.

Categories of Children’s rights
1. Survival rights
2. Protection rights
3. Developmental rights
4. Participation rights
Survival Rights
These are rights that protect the lives of children and
ensure their survival. They ensure that conditions that
guarantee a child’s survival are put in place. The
rights include:
 The inherent right to life (Article 6)
 Right to access to health and medical services
(Article 24)
 Adequate standards of living guaranteeing access
to Nutritious food, decent shelter, clean and safe
drinking water and appropriate clothing;(Article 25)
Development Rights
All children have a right to develop well intellectually,
physically, morally, emotionally socially and in all
aspects. A child’s development rights include;
 Right to free and compulsory Education (Article 28)

 Right to rest, play, leisure and recreation (Article
31)
 Access to appropriate information (Article 17)
 Social security including social insurance (Article
26)
 Parental love and care (Articles 5,7,9 and 19);
Protection Rights
 Children are vulnerable due to their ages. They therefore
require special protection from life’s harm and dangers.
Particularly, children should be protected against the following:
 Sexual exploitation (Article 34);
 Sale and Trafficking (Article 35)
 Economic exploitation (Article 32);
 Discrimination (Article 2);
 Drugs and other substance abuse (Article 33); and
 Protection for children with disabilities (Article 23);
 Torture, inhuman and degrading punishment & treatment (Article 37)
 Armed conflict and hostilities (Article 38);
 Harmful cultural practices (Article 24 (3)).
 Children should have protection of name and nationality especially in cases of
adoption where both are likely to be lost in the adoption process. No child
should be forced to abandon his/her citizenship without his/her
understanding of the full implication of such a decision. Children in refugee
camps should be particularly given special attention, as they are most
vulnerable.
Participation Rights
 These are rights that facilitate a child’s
participation in society. They include:
 Right to form and air views (Article 12);
 Right to expression (Article 13);
 Right to thought, conscience and religion
(Article 14);
 Right to Association (Article 15);and
Characteristics of the African Charter
 Pays attention to special issues prevailing in Africa;
 For instance, Apartheid, unequal treatment of female children
and female genital mutilation, a phenomenon which was a
reality in Africa etc.
 Complements the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child:
 The Charter also looked into special categories of children like
the Children of imprisoned mothers and addressed the duties
and responsibilities of children.
 Facilitate the ratification and implementation of the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child:
 It can be summarized that the main objective for the Charter
was to make the rights and welfare of the Child envisaged in
CRC relevant to the African child.

How the African Charter differs from the UNCRC
The content of the charter is very much similar to that of the UNCRC. It
upholds the rights and principles espoused in the UNCRC. However it differs
with the UNCRC in the following ways:
 Addresses the unique position of and the peculiar problems faced by the
African child.
 It lays special emphasis on the family as a unit in need of protection and
support from the state.

 Identifies what education should seek to accomplish and introduces a
provision urging states to ensure that children who become pregnant

before completing their education shall be accorded an opportunity to
continue with it on the basis of their individual ability.
 Participation rights extended to parents, relatives, communities and NGOs.
 Recognizes that most children on the continent work in the informal sector
or as beggars.
 Introduces the notion that children have duties and obligations to their
families, communities and the State in addition to possessing rights as is

discussed below.
 Prohibits death sentence for crimes committed by children
Responsibilities of the African Child
Article 31 of the Charter outlines the responsibilities of a child as
follows:
 To work for the cohesion of the family, to respect his parents and
superiors and elders at all times and to assist them in case of need;
 To serve his national community by placing his physical and
intellectual abilities at its service;

 To preserve and strengthen social and national solidarity;
 To preserve and strengthen African cultural values in his relations
with other members of the society in the spirit of tolerance,

dialogue and consultation and to contribute to the moral well being
of society;
 To preserve and strengthen the independence and the integrity of
his country;
 To contribute to the best of his abilities, at all times and at all
levels, to the promotion and achievement of African unity.

Obligations in fulfillment of the Children’s Rights
Child
family
Community
(churches,community
workers/orgs)
NGOs(Child Protection Society,
Africaid, JCT, Childline, REPSSI
etc.
GVT(legislation,Acts,Departments,
NGO registration)
CONCLUSION
ALL STAKEHOLDERS SHOULD CONSIDER CHILD
RIGHTS EDUCATION AS THE CORNERSTONE
FOR ALL CHILD PROTECTION PROGRAMMES.
CHILDREN SHOULD BE TAUGHT ABOUT THEIR
RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES SO THAT THEY
WILL BE BETTER INFORMEDAND BEHAVE IN A
WAY THAT DO NOT VIOLATE OTHER
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS AS WELL.
 THE END

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Children’s Rights &

interest of the child must be of primary consideration

of our society; right from the home to the international

 The UNCRC has the following characteristics:

 Right to free and compulsory Education (Article 28)

support from the state.

provision urging states to ensure that children who become pregnant

families, communities and the State in addition to possessing rights as is

intellectual abilities at its service;

with other members of the society in the spirit of tolerance,

levels, to the promotion and achievement of African unity.

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