INTRODUCTION
A child is any human being below the age of
eighteen years, unless under the law applicable to the child, majority
is attained earlier." According to Cornell University, a child is a person, not a subperson, and the parent has
absolute interest and possession of the child, but this is very much an
American view.
A child is a person and not a subperson over whom the parent has an
absolute possessory interest. The term "child" does not necessarily
mean minor but can include adult children as well as adult nondependent
children. Children are generally afforded the basic rights embodied by the
Constitution.
CHILD RIGHTS LAW
Children's Rights law exists to safeguard children, their wellbeing and
their individual rights. These federal and state policies and laws were spearheaded
by the children’s rights movement which promotes legal defenses and protections
for children by addressing their social welfare; health, education and special
needs; child trafficking; child labor and exploitation and how the juvenile justice system
deals with minors.
The Child Bill of Rights
It is believed that a successful society invests
its best resources and hopes in the success of its children. An unsuccessful
society ignores or maltreats its children.
Children are the future of our species. How a
society treats its children is a direct reflection of how that society looks at
its future. The Children's Bill of Rights proposes rights for children that all
adults on Earth should honor, so that we may help create the very best future
for ourselves and, in turn, our own children.
A moral and competent society is one that respects
and upholds the rights of its children. A society that fails to do so is
immoral and incompetent.
THE WORK ABILITY OF THE CHILD RIGHTS BILL OF THE CROSS RIVER STATE
In a one-day workshop organized by the Cross River
State Judiciary in collaboration with the Justice Research Institute LTD (GTE)
Lagos, has ended in Calabar with a call on the Attorney General and Commissioner
for Justice and other judicial bodies in the State to effectively enforce via
implementation, the Child Rights Law in Cross River State. The Chief Judge
noted that Cross River State first enacted the Children and Young Persons
Law in 1979 which was revised in 2004. She called for the juxtaposition of the
Child Rights Law of Cross River State enacted in 2009 by the State House of
Assembly with that of the “Children and Young Persons Law of 2004”.
In her words “in order to appreciate the wide ambit
of Child Rights Law 2009, a juxtaposition of this law with the “Children and
Young Persons Law, 2004” will clearly highlight the beauty of the present law
which is multi–dimensional. This includes the harmonization of the different
definitions of a “child”. It would be noted that under 2004 Law,
there is a distinction between a “child” and a “juvenile”.
As violence continued in the Niger Delta
region, children's rights campaigners welcomed the passing into law of the
Child Rights Act on 26 May in nearby Cross River state.
Suomi Sakai, head of the UN Children’s Fund
(UNICEF) in Nigeria, told IRIN: “UNICEF heartily congratulates Cross River
state. The state has now joined a vast international movement in support of
children’s rights.” Nigeria ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in
1989 and domesticated it in 2003 as the Child Rights Act. Since then 23 of
Nigeria’s 36 states have passed the act into law. The law specifies the rights
and responsibilities of children and the duties and obligations of government,
families and the authorities to uphold children’s rights. Nigeria’s
constitution stipulates child rights come under state responsibility, so for
the act to become operational, each state must first pass it into law. “UNICEF
urges the remaining 13 [states] to now do the same,
ARTICLES OF THE CHILD BILL OF RIGHTS
Section I: Articles that are implemented immediately
1. Children's universal rights
As compared to adults, children until the age of 18
have the right to receive special care and protection.Children all have the
same rights, no matter what country they were born in or are living in, what
their sex is, what their race is, or what their religion is.
2. Right to inherit a better world
Children have the right to inherit a world that is
at least as good as the one their parents inherited.Children have a
responsibility to think about how they will leave a better world to their
children, and, when they become adults, they have the right and duty to act on
this.
3. Right to influence the future
Children have the right to participate in
discussions having to do with the directions our society is taking -- on the
large political, economic, social, and educational issues and policies -- so
that children can help create the kind of world they will grow up in.
Adults have an obligation to communicate their views of these large
issues in terms that children can understand, and provide children with the
same information that is available to all adults. Children have the right to
understand how things change within society, and to learn how to influence
these changes.
4. Right to freedom of thought, opinion, expression, conscience, and religion
Every child has the right to express his or her
opinion freely, and adults should address that opinion with the child in every
decision that affects him or her. Children have the right to carry out research
to help form these opinions.Children have the right to express their views,
obtain information, and make ideas or information known. Children have the
right to form their own views in matters of conscience and religion.
5. Right to media access
Children have guaranteed access to all important
communications media so that they may communicate nationally and
internationally amongst themselves and with adults.
6. Right to participate in decisions affecting children
Children have the right to participate in all
committees and decisions that make plans and set policies that directly or
indirectly affect children.
7. Right to privacy
Children have the right to privacy to the same
extent adults have.
8. Right to respect and courtesy
Children should be treated with respect and
courtesy by adults, as well as by other children.
9. Right to an identity
Children separated from their birth parents at
birth or at an early age have the right to know that this happened. Children
have the right to know their name, who their birth parents are, and when and
where they were born.
10. Right to freedom of association
Children have the right to meet with others, and to
join or form associations, equivalent to that held by adults.
11. Right to care and nurturing
Children have the right to have nurturing and
caring parents or guardians.
12. Right to leisure and play
Children have the right to leisure, play, and
participation in cultural and artistic activities. Children have the right to a
enjoy at least a few hours every day when they are free from worries.
13. Right to safe work
Children have the right to be protected from work
that threatens their health, education, or development.Children have the right
to have pocket money so that they may learn to manage money.
14. Right to an adequate standard of living
Every child has the right to a standard of living
adequate for his or her physical, mental, spiritual, moral, and social
development, no matter how wealthy his or her parents are.
15. Right to life, physical integrity and protection from maltreatment
Children have the right to be protected from all
forms of maltreatment by any adult, including a parent. This includes but is
not limited to: physical abuse, including torture, violence, hitting and
slapping; harmful drugs, including alcohol and tobacco; mental abuse; and
sexual abuse.
Infanticide is prohibited.No child shall be forced into marriage.
16. Right to a diverse environment and creativity
Children have the right to have many different
things, people, and ideas in their environment. Children have the right to
listen to music of their choice.
Children have the right NOT to have their creativity stifled.
17. Right to education
Every child has the right to education, education
that aims to develop his or her personality, talents, and mental and physical abilities
to the fullest extent, no matter how wealthy the child's parents are. Education
should foster respect for a child's parents, for the child's own cultural
identity, language and values, as well as for the cultural background and
values of others. Children have the right to an excellent education in any
school. Schools will differ not in the quality of the education they offer, but
only in their philosophies of teaching, and what professional specializations
they stress.
18. Right to access appropriate information and to a balanced depiction Of reality
Adults have the obligation to provide children with
information from several different sources. Children should be protected from
materials adults consider harmful.
Children have the right to have reality presented to them in a balanced
and accurately representative fashion.
19. Right not to be exposed to prejudice
Children have the right NOT to be taught that one
group (racial, national, religious, etc.) is superior to another.
Section II: Articles that require social or national policies
20. The right to a clean environment
Children have a right to a clean environment
(water, air, ground, sea).
21. Right to a small national debt
Governments and countries must decrease national
debt which will have to be paid for by future generations.
REFERENCES
Brownlie, J. and Anderson, S. (2006) "'Beyond Anti-
Smacking': Rethinking parent–child relations,"
Childhood. 13(4) p 479-498.
Cutting, E. (1999) "Giving Parents a Voice: A Children's
Rights Issue," Rightlines. 2 ERIC #ED428855.
Brennan, S. and Noggle, R. (1997) "The Moral Status of
Children: Children's Rights, Parent's Rights, and
Family Justice," Social Theory
and Practice. 23.
Kaslow, FW (1990) Children who sue parents: A new form
of family homicide? Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. 16(2) p 151–163.
Sugar Mummy is Real!!!
ReplyDeleteDo you need Sugar Mummy/Daddy? Hurry up now and contact Mrs Sandra on (08140553826) she just linked/hooked me up with a rich sugar mummy after I have been played/scamed online by some other people all the name of sugar mummy, no much talks hurry up now call her (Mrs. Sandra) on (+2348140553826) and testify/see for your own self don’t waist time, she is genuine, just follow her rules and in 24hours she will link you up! Allah she is nice.