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A PAPER PRESENTED BY MRS.
NOGI IMOUKHUEDE ON THE THEME- RIGHT TO PROTECTION, STOP VIOLENCE
AGAINST CHILDREN TO MARK THE 2006 DAY OF THE AFRICAN CHILD ORGANISED
BY THE EDO STATE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AFFAIRS ON THE 16th DAY
OF JUNE 2006
Hon. Commissioner, Ladies and
gentlemen, our dear children, gentlemen of the press. It gives me
great pleasure to present this paper on this august occasion.
‘Protection’ is defined as ‘to
keep safe from dangers or enemies, against attack while a legal right
is defined as an entitlement guaranteed by law, it means you can
institute legal proceedings to enforce your legal rights. We are
happy to inform you that the Child Rights Act 2003 has domesticated
the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which hitherto defined
Children’s Rights. Please note that in addition to the Child Rights
Act 2003, every child is also entitled to the Fundamental Human Rights
guaranteed under chapter iv of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria.
The UN Convention on the
Rights of the child declares that every child has a right to life, to
be allowed to survive and develop. The convention also offers
protection to the privacy, honour, reputation, health and prevention
from indecent and inhuman treatment through sexual exploitation, drug
abuse, child labour, torture, maltreatment and neglect.
What is Violence?
Violence may be defined as a
state of injury which may be physical or mental. Therefore, while
excessive punishment of a child is violence, any state in which the
child is subject to any form of mental trauma or abuse may be regarded
as a violation of the child’s rights. Happily the Child Rights Act
2003 which offers a host of protections to the Nigerian child has been
passed into law.
Please allow me to give you a
few examples of the Child Rights Act 2003 which guarantees the
protection of children against violence.
Part 1 – Under Sections 1 and
2 of the law, guarantees that the best interest of a child is to be of
paramount consideration in all actions in every action concerning a
child.
My Hon. Commissioner, dear
children, ladies and gentlemen I am excited by this provision if we
all agree that our children are our future, then we will support this
provision. Amongst you are future presidents, captains of industries,
scientists and various professionals, you all are the leaders of
tomorrow. Anybody who has studied procreation and the biological
process through which a child is formed, know children are precious
gifts from God. We as adults, are to care for you and bring you up to
be responsible citizens of Nigeria. In order not to bore you with
legal postulations, I will list hereunder the provisions of the Child
Rights Act 2003 that guarantees children’s rights to protection
against violence.
Remember violence can be
physical or psychological.
S. 4 – Right to survival and
development
S.5 – Right to a name – you
will agree with me that having a name is the first indication of
humanity. You will agree with me that our names are very important to
us, that is why every parent thinks carefully before giving their
child names. That is why we have names like Peace, Joy, Hope,
Blessing. We give our children good names because we all believe in
the power of words.
S.8 – Right to private and
family life. You will agree with me that the family is a very
important unit of society. It is from our families that we learn
social values, personal integrity, religion and social skills. The
family unit is very important because that is our root and we are
usually very proud of our family name and like to be associated with
it. Under the Bini culture that is the first question that is asked –
whose son/daughter are you? Which family do you come from?
S.10 – Right to freedom from
discrimination. You will agree with me that discrimination is a form
of mental torture.
S.11 – Right to dignity of the
child. As human beings we always fight to preserve our dignity which
is what distinguishes us from animals and other living forms. The law
guarantees respect for the dignity of the child and stipulates that
children shall not be subjected to physical, mental or emotional
injury, abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, torture, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment attack on his reputation, slavery or
servitude.
S.14 – Right to parental care,
protection and maintenance.
Even the unborn child is
guaranteed protection against harm or injuries and is entitled to
institute legal proceedings to claim damages for such.
Part III creates offences for
any breach in the rights of a child. When a law creates offences this
serves as a means to deter infringements because any breach of the
right becomes an offence punishable with imprisonment.
I will also list hereunder
sections under the Child Rights Act 2003 that punish violations of the
rights of the child:
S.23 – Child betrothal – 5
years imprisonment or N5000,000 fine
S.24 – Tatoos and skin marks –
1 month imprisonment or N5,000
S.25 – Exposure to use
production and trafficking or narcotic drugs – life imprisonment
S.26 – Use of children in
other criminal activities – 14 years imprisonment.
S.27 – Abduction, removal and
transfer from lawful custody 7 – 20 years imprisonment
S.28 – Exploitative labour – 5
years imprisonment or N50,00
S.30 – Prohibition of buying,
selling, hiring or otherwise dealing in children for purpose
of hawking or begging or
prostitution – 10 years imprisonment
S.31 – Unlawful sexual
intercourse with a child – life imprisonment
S.32 – Other forms of sexual
abuse and exploitation – 14 years imprisonment
S.33 - Other forms of
exploitation – 5 years imprisonment or N500,000 fine
S.35 – Importation of harmful
publication – 3 years imprisonment or N30,000 fine
S.36 – Harmful publication – 5
years imprisonment or N50,000
Part iv
of the Child Rights Act
creates legal mechanisms for the protection of children’s rights which
involves the state government, the courts, provides for emergency
protection orders and the creation of an Emergency Protection Center.
Part vi and viii
of the Act provides for care and supervision and also about children
in need of care and protection.
As can be seen, the Child
Rights Act 2003 has offered ample protection for the rights of the
Nigerian Child. What is the situation on the ground? Everyday we all
see or hear of the rights of the Nigerian Child being violated. We
see children who are used as hawkers and are prevented from going to
school, whereas, the right to education is one of the fundamental
rights of the child and are one of the Millennium Development Goals.
Our organization – Women’s
Rights Watch Nigeria offers free legal services to victims of gender
persecution through our WRW Legal Aid Clinic.
We have initiated legal
proceedings in suit No. OR/ACC/95/2004 – Akpan Vs. Akpan on
behalf of a widow and her two sons who were being disinherited by a
brother-in-law. As a result of which the widow became impoverished
and her two sons could not attend school for a year. The court gave
judgement in favour of our clients and granted administration of the
estate to the widow. In that way the widow was able to access her
husband’s pension entitlement and continue to educate her sons.
WRW Legal Aid Clinic was also
involved in a criminal case where a father had started defiling his
daughter since the age of 5 years – COP Vs. Moses Omini. We
are happy to inform you that the accused is now a prisoner serving
seven years imprisonment with hard labour. We have also offered our
services to the parents of a 2 year old girl who was allegedly defiled
by a so called ‘pastor’. The case was recently featured in our local
television news. Why am I recounting all these experiences? It is to
alert you to the fact that the rights of children in Nigeria are being
violated daily. Whether as domestic servants, apprentice, traders,
bus conductors, refuse collectors. Our children are exposed to
kidnappers, ritualists and all kinds of dangers.
I therefore call on all
parents, Civil Society Organisations to join hands with the Nigerian
Government to ensure the protection of our children who are our future
and our hope in the quest to create a Nigeria of our dreams, that will
truly become the giant of Africa. I urge every one to be vigilant and
ensure that anyone who violates the rights of children is brought to
face the Child Rights Acts 2003.
Thank you very much for your
attention.
Nogi Imoukhuede
Project Coordinator
Women’s Rights Watch Nigeria |