Stephen N. Achilihu

Do African Children Have Rights?: a Comparative and Legal Analysis of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Stephen N. Achilihu

The United Nations 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) constitutes a landmark in the development of international human rights law and reflects an historic turn in universal thinking about children and their rights. Many children in Africa today face the future with a deep sense of uncertainty and foreboding. Many have no hope of education and the issues of child trafficking, sexual exploitation and child labour reflect a profound crisis of the family. The current socio-economic situation has radically changed the world views and the life expectations of the African child. This book attempts to respond to some of the questions that could be asked: to what extent have the provisions of the CRC been implemented in the national legislations of African States? What effect have they had on children in Africa? What mechanisms exist to prevent and sanction rights abusers? Are children's rights in Africa reality, or simply rhetoric?