Julia Sloth-Nielsen

A Dutiful Child: The Implications of Article 31 of the African Children's Charter

Each right has a corresponding duty. The African Childrens Charter, under article 31, imposes a range of duties on children. Understandably, it could become contentious when an instrument on the rights and welfare of children expressly imposes duties on them. After setting the platform for discussion by highlighting international experiences and outlining the African concept of human rights, this article critically examines and attempts to clarify the precise meaning, content, conditions of compliance and application of those duties for children. By way of conclusion, it suggests that article 31 represents a valuable addition to the international human rights agenda, and that a purposeful interpretation of its constituent parts reveals that children should be required to play a role at family, community, national and continental levels, in accordance with their age and maturity as they grow up, as part and parcel of their heritage, empowerment and developing citizenship.

2 + 2 = 5? Exploring the Domestication of the CRC in South African Jurisprudence (2002-2006)

Introduction South Africa commenced transition to a constitutional democracy with the adoption of an interim constitution in 1994, followed by national elections based, for the first time, on universal adult sufferage. A justiciable Bill of Rights, containing some rights accorded to children, was at the core of our new society based on values of dignity, equality and respect for the freedom and security of the person, in sharp contrast to the violence and legalised discrimination that had characterised the apartheid regime. The two years that followed the adoption of the Interim Constitution were a period of intense negotiations by a multi-party constitutional assembly to finalise the text of a final constitution, in accordance with the principles set out in the Interim Constitution. As has previously been pointed out (Sloth-Nielsen, 1996, p.326), there was a high degree of consensus amongst political parties about the children’s rights to be included, to the extent that four of the six party submissions supported the extension of the children’s rights clause, and indeed a number of additional rights were fashioned and ultimately adopted.

The contribution of children's rights to the reconstruction of society: Some implications of the constitutionalisation of children's rights in South Africa

government on 27 April 1994, and, on 16 June 1995, the government ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989. This was the first international human rights document to be ratified by the new government. It is, possibly, significant that the childrens rights treaty was ratified before other international treaties identified by the government for early ratification: the torture convention, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, to cite just two2 that the government had indicated that it intended to ratify. Together, these documents introduced

A short history of time: charting the contribution of social development service delivery to enhance child justice 1996-2006

The starting point of this article has been selected as 1996 for several reasons. That year was characterised by three signal events in the history of child justice in South Africa. First, 1996 heralded the adoption of the Correctional Services Amendment Act 14 of 1996, now infamous as having re-paved the way for the incarceration of children aged below 18 in prisons whilst awaiting trial. This was a step taken to address the (by then) well-known difficulties caused at a practical level by the previous amending legislation of a year earlier (Skelton, 2005:396-403), which sought to prohibit altogether the detention of children in prison after an initial 48-hour period prior to appearance in court.

Cluster foster care: a panacea for the care of children in the era of HIV/Aids or an MCQ?

The ravages wrought by HIV/AIDS on child-care arrangements in the African context are well documented (Richter & Sherr, 2009; Sloth-Nielsen & Mezmur, 2008; Tsegaye, 2007; sources cited there). Notably, these constitute the breakdown of traditional kinship structures which would ordinarily have accommodated orphans and other vulnerable children, a decrease in the capacity of existing extended family structures to care for the numbers of children requiring alternative care, and the emergence of child-headed households. The topic of child-headed households, too, has emerged as a key concept in international child rights law (Couzens & Zaal, 2009; Sloth-Nielsen, 2004; Sloth-Nielsen in Skelton & Davel, 2010; UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC), General Comment No. 3 on HIV/AIDS and the rights of the child, 2003), and this phenomenon has been directly related to the onset of the pandemic.

Of newborns and nubiles: some critical challenges to children's rights in Africa in the era of HIV/AIDS

The most substantive elaboration of principle concerning the issues relevant to HIV/Aids and the rights of the child is contained in the Committee on the Rights of the Childs General Comment No. 3 (2003). The insistence on recognising and requiring services to address childrens evolving sexuality poses enormous threats to prevailing cultural and religious values in many traditional African settings. This chapter explores some of these issues with reference to some specific issues that arise in the context of HIV/Aids. The first theoretical dilemma raised in the chapter concerns the recognition and protection that the General Comment requires to be afforded to child-headed households. A second theoretical conundrum arises in the context of adolescent sexuality, parental consent, and access to concrete reproductive services and technologies. More practical concerns are raised by the some of the issues related to HIV/Aids testing and access to alternative care for babies and infants. Keywords: adolescent sexuality; Africa; child-headed households; childrens rights; HIV/Aids testing; infants

A maturing manifesto: The constitutionalisation of children’s rights in South African jurisprudence 2007-2012

This article represents the next in a series of five-year overviews of children’s rights in the courts in South Africa. Using the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Welfare of Children as a point of departure, the study suggests that it is in the public sphere that children’s rights have had their most impact in the period under review. The article highlights eight areas of distinction in this five-year period: these include judicial approval of resource mobilisation for the fulfilment of children’s rights, emphasis on the quality of and standards in education; the development of innovative remedies to deal with unreasonable state measures affecting children, and an increasing focus on the right to dignity of the child. The authors conclude that the scope of the cases cited points to the growing insertion of children’s rights considerations in increasingly diverse areas of legal interaction. Furthermore, the authors posit that the CRC and ACRWC – together with non-binding sources of international law – have substantively informed and enriched the jurisprudence of South African courts.

Realising children's rights to legal representation and to be heard in judicial proceedings: an update

Abstract South Africa still has some way to go towards ensuring that children’s rights to legal representation and to be heard are fully implemented in relation to judicial proceedings affecting them. Nonetheless, some emerging practices point to an ongoing expansion of the realisation of these rights. This article charts some key developments in law, policy and implementation that constitute such practices. The article also argues that apart from merely serving as the child’s voice in the courtroom setting, effective child lawyering is additionally contingent on a commitment to seeking out children in need of services, on an emphasis more broadly on stakeholder relationships in the sector, and a willingness to adjust to changing circumstances.

Does the differential criterion for vesting parental rights and responsibilities of unmarried parents violate international law? A legislative and social study of three African countries

The right to non-discrimination for all children is established in international human rights law. International children’s rights law further provides for the common responsibility of parents for the maintenance of their children. African customary law and common law have always made a distinction between children born in and out of wedlock so far as the duty to maintain them is concerned. The resilience of this customary and common law approach is evident in statutory provisions of the countries discussed in this article. This is despite international obligations under children’s rights treaties ratified by these countries. On the face of it, the distinction of responsibility based on marital status seems harmless. However, in view of gender inequities and resource distribution between men and women in society, such a distinction has serious implications for the rights of affected children.

A Commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

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