Reflections on how Selected Shona and Ndebele Proverbs Highlight a Worldview that Promotes a Respect and/or a Violation of Children’s Rights

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 660-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tendai Mangena ◽  
Sambulo Ndlovu

This paper sets out to demonstrate that though the un Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) is the most widely accepted Human Rights Convention and Zimbabwe is one of the 193 states acceding to the treaty, there are still challenges in the promotion of children’s rights. Irrespective of the fact that human rights discourse is believed to be a modern concept and its universal application is contested, this paper also demonstrates that children’s rights have always been moral imperatives for both the Shona and Ndebele of Zimbabwe since time immemorial, as shown in their proverbs. Nevertheless, it is also imperative there were some beliefs that, if considered in the modern sense of the human rights paradigm, promoted the violation of some children’s rights. The following discussion shows that children’s autonomy is not culturally a Shona or Ndebele concept, and is often not realized in these cultures even if Zimbabwe adheres to the Convention of the Child’s Rights that stipulates that the child be viewed and treated as an autonomous being. In both Shona and Ndebele traditional cultures, as expressed in their proverbs, parents have an obligation to offer protection to their children. This paper also demonstrates the cultural ambivalence in two specific aspects of child care: the beating up of children as a discipline factor and the raising up of orphans.

Author(s):  
Wouter Vandenhole ◽  
Gamze Erdem Türkelli

The best interests of the child principle is considered a pillar of children’s rights law and, according to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), is to be a primary consideration in all actions concerning children. Yet best interests is an elusive concept and principle that has no single authoritative definition or description. Internationally and domestically relevant in such diverse areas as family law, adoption, migration, and socioeconomic policymaking, the best interests principle requires flexibility and is best served by a case-by-case approach, as has been recognized by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the European Court of Human Rights. This chapter analyzes relevant international case law and suggests the use of a number of safeguards to prevent such requisite flexibility from presenting a danger of paternalism, bias, or misuse.


Author(s):  
Savitri Goonesekere

The chapter analyses children’s human rights as universal norms and standards incorporated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) that are relevant in diverse national contexts. Discussing national experiences and the quasi-jurisprudence of treaty bodies, the chapter argues that understanding the interrelated nature of the different groups of rights in the CRC is essential for effective implementation of these rights. It is suggested that the concept of the indivisibility of human rights and the global agenda of sustainable development reinforce the need for this approach. The chapter also discusses the interdependence, compatibility, and conflict between children’s rights and the human rights of other groups, such as parents, women, and a community with which a child connects as he or she grows to adulthood. The chapter argues that incorporating children’s rights in national constitutions, rather than ad hoc legislation, encourages this holistic approach to implementing children’s rights.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 500
Author(s):  
Stephany Iriana Pasaribu ◽  
Frank Vanclay

Although companies have many direct and indirect impacts on the lives of children, discussion of the responsibility of business to respect the rights of children has primarily focused on child labor. Using UNICEF’s Children’s Rights and Business Principles as a framework for our analysis, we considered the activities of oil palm plantation companies operating in Indonesia. Our data come from key informant interviews and reflection on two programs established to promote respect for children’s rights in the Indonesian palm oil industry: one by Pusat Kajian Perlindungan Anak (PKPA) (Center for Child Study and Protection); and one by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in conjunction with UNICEF. We considered: how plantation company activities impacted children’s lives; how companies demonstrated respect for children’s rights; and how observance of children’s rights can be improved. We discuss four problematic issues: getting company commitments to children’s rights into policy and practice; having a strong business case for respecting human rights and children’s rights; contradictory objectives within companies; and complexities around children in the workplace. We argue that a children’s rights based approach should be applied to the activities of all organizations. This children’s rights lens is needed to overcome the invisibility of children in society and industry, and to address the root causes of human rights harms. We note that respecting children’s rights will likely contribute to getting a social license to operate and grow.


Author(s):  
R Brian Howe ◽  
Katherine Covell

Abstract This article analyses the rise of the new right-wing, nationalistic, xenophobic, and authoritarian populism as a challenge to children’s human rights. Informed by human needs theory, it situates the new populism in the context of globalization, economic grievances, and cultural resentment and backlash against out-groups. Fuelling the rise in support for populism has been growing existential insecurity combined with a lack of effective education on human rights. The outcome, as shown in countries where populism has come into power, has been a threat and an attack on the human rights of children, as described in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. An important means of meeting the challenge of populism, we contend, is comprehensive and robust human rights education in schools, underpinned by education on children’s rights. As called for by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, children’s rights education needs to be integrated into school curricula, policies, practices, teaching materials, and teacher training. Models of human rights education in schools are available and studies have shown positive results in promoting knowledge, understanding, and support for human rights. As described by the United Nations, through providing education about, through, and for human rights, the ultimate goal—yet to be realized—is to advance a culture of human rights. Such a culture would serve as a counter to populism.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Richard P. Hiskes

The world does not really believe that human rights pertain to children. This is so in spite of the fact that the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has been ratified by all nations worldwide except for one, the United States. This book explores the reasons behind the US refusal in ...


2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-188
Author(s):  
Karen M. Staller

In this article I explore the intersections of children's human rights, social policy, and qualitative inquiry from a social work perspective. First, I consider the relationship between human rights work and social work. Second, I argue that children add complexity to the human rights debate. In doing so, I briefly examine the conflict between children's rights as developed in the United States and that of the United Nation's Convention on the Rights of the Child. Third, I turn to a specific qualitative research project in which a team of researchers conducted an in-depth study of the prosecution of child sexual abuse in one U.S. jurisdiction. I argue that the findings from this study illustrate how qualitative inquiry can reveal conflicting and often hidden value trade-offs that must be addressed when enacting and enforcing children's human rights. This study demonstrates what qualitative inquiry has to offer policy advocates who seek to promote children's human rights.


2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 205-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Egan

The un General Assembly has recently adopted a third Optional Protocol to the crc, providing for an individual complaint mechanism for children. The product of a sustained campaign on the part of ngos and children’s rights advocates, the Protocol achieves a certain parity of esteem for children vis-à-vis complainants under other core un human rights instruments by enabling them to make complaints specifically with respect to rights guaranteed by the Convention and its two substantive protocols. This article examines the terms of this new procedure in the light of its drafting history and explains why the resulting text has in many respects disappointed in terms of delivering a much-hoped for “child-friendly” complaint mechanism for children.


2008 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 545-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edzia Carvalho

AbstractThe rights of the child, as recognised by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child have been increasingly reiterated in international declarations and national commitments. However, there exists a disparity in ‘the de jure protection and de facto realization of human rights’ (Landman 2005: 5). The relative absence of systematic engagement within academia and without on the issue of mapping the operationalisation of children's rights by States not only hinders ongoing attempts to identify and explain the causes and variation in the failure to implement children's rights but also weakens national and international efforts to hold States accountable for their obligations. This article seeks to address the lack of utilisation of measures of children's rights and the deficiencies in the measures that are in use. By drawing on the existing academic literature and intergovernmental efforts to measure human rights, the article proposes a measurement matrix that could be used to chart the implementation of States' obligations towards children's rights. The matrix is an attempt to further the emerging international endeavours to develop children's rights indicators.


Author(s):  
Марина Шелютто ◽  
Marina SHyelyutto

The adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989 meant the international recognition of children as autonomous right-holders. The Convention includes practically all traditional human rights: civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, to which every child is entitled. The Report on the Protection of Children’s Rights: International Standards and Domestic Constitutions adopted by the Venice Commission in 2014 shows that national constitutions of some Council of Europe Member States have implemented the provisions of the Convention in different manner after its adoption. Some constitutions (the Russian Constitution is among them, too) reflect the traditional paternalistic approach (according to which children need protection) but not the rights-based approach. The inclusion in the Constitution of guarantees of rights for everyone may be insufficient to ensure respect for these rights for every child. The recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Venice Commission to include in national constitutions the key message that children are holders of human rights and the general principals of the Convention are topical for the Russian Federation.


Al-Bayyinah ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-42
Author(s):  
Lisma Lisma ◽  
Roykhatun Nikmah

The empirical reality regarding the issue of care and protection for children is still a global concern. It is necessary to find rules regarding the protection and care of children. Comparing several rules in legislation, human rights and Islamic law in strengthening the position of children as human beings who must receive care and protection. This research is a literature review with a normative juridical approach. Examining various literatures by focusing on aspects of laws and regulations related to care, child protection, human rights and Islamic law. The techniques of analysis used were descriptive and comparative. The findings of this study indicate that child care and protection falls into the category of fulfilling human rights. Child protection is in line with the universal principles of human rights and has a legal umbrella and the power to obtain care and protection. However, the existing regulations have not been maximally implemented. In Islamic law, children have a very high guarantee of protection, this is included in the category of caring for children as the goal of sharia (maqashid syari'ah). The implication of this finding is that the protection of children's rights cannot be negotiated, because the state and religion have provided protection, so what must be enforced is the supervision of the fulfillment of children's rights.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document