Prepared by John Njuguna Ngure on 22nd June 2020
Since
1991,
June 16th is the Day when the
African Child is celebrated to commemorate those killed during the
1976 student led Soweto Uprising in
South Africa, and to recognize their courage when they marched for their right to an education.
In retrospective, the
African Union (AU) Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the then
Organization of African Unity (OAU) instituted
DAC in
1991 not only in memory of the brave
South Africa students who were brutally murdered in
1976 Soweto Uprising, but also to create awareness for serious contemplation and dedication towards confronting the numerous problems such as
poverty, hunger, disease, war, discrimination, child labour,
human trafficking, mass migrations, the endemic conflicts facing children across the
Africa.
Since
1991, the
OAU and its successor
AU, using the
African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) have been selecting themes to correspond with the
Aspirations of the Agenda 2040 as they honor students killed during the
1976 Soweto Uprising.
In corroboration with other
respective organization,
ACERWC selects the theme
Access to a child-friendly Justice System in Africa
To correspond with the
8th Aspiration: Children benefit from a child-sensitive criminal system.
Similar to any other issues around the globe, Covid-19 has had a huge impact on the justice and security in the African society. Compared to the other
Agenda 2040 Aspirations, Aspiration 8 has been the most affected by the Coronavirus.
Since the
first case of the coronavirus was recorded on February 14th 2020 (
Valentines Day) in
Egypt, the African Continent has been experiencing a surge in crime.
With the various judicial systems closed down and the security forces overwhelmed with the duties of instituting Covid-19 measures such as lock-downs, the African Children, one of the marginalized groups, are being exposed to the rise in various severe crimes with the community
5 reasons why the covid-19 preventive measures exposes the African child to severe safety implications
The Children Experience the Challenges of Economic Deteriorating
The implementation of lock-down and curfew, among other laws by the different African states to flatten the Covid-19 curve, their economies are on the brink of collapsing. Many small companies are closing down while others are retrenching their employees or reducing their salaries to cope with the pandemic. Since most families in Africa live below the poverty level, Loss of income by the family’s breadwinner during the pandemic continues to push more families deeper into poverty. Children become exposed to domestic violence between parents going though stress caused by the economic turmoil. Besides, they become victims of domestic violence from parents or guardians. the economic pressure pushes the children to extreme poverty forcing them to lack their rights to basic needs such as food or being forced to work to help supplement the families income.
The Children Right to Education has Been Infringed Exposing them to other Social Evils
Closure of the education system where most children seek refuge from many of the social crimes against them in the various family units poses a significant to the future increase in mental illness. Besides, the use of digital media in learning makes children vulnerable to harmful content and cyber predators.
The Children Right to Protection by Security Forces is Infringed
The security forces are being overworked in instigating the lock-down and curfew regulations to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. With many families trying to survive the harsh economic under lock-downs and curfew, the parents and guardians are susceptible to domestic violence exposing the African child to direct or indirect sexual abuse.
The Children have no Right to Justice
Apart from the security forces, many African governments have closed their judicial system in response to the social distance laws to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. In the event a perpetrator is caught, the child has to endure delayed justice leading to emotional trauma. When the child is the offender, he/she can suffer from both psychological and physical torture waiting for the hearing and delivery of the court’s verdict for their case.
The Children have no Right to Proper Healthcare Facility
Lack of proper infrastructure to facilitate effective delivery of health, among other basic elements for the African child. The available facilities and available healthcare practitioners are focusing their energy to cater for the rising covid-19 confirmed cases patients at the expense of others. The Coronavirus trends in Africa shows that healthy children and youths are not affected by the Covid-19 virus. Since Africa children are still prone to other ailments such as ebola, and malaria, among others, they are facing healthcare neglect.
Parting Shot
As the continent joins forces with the rest of the world, this year, ACERWC is reminding us and calling for serious introspection and commitment towards addressing the numerous challenges posed by the Coronavirus against the attainment of the 8th Aspiration of the Agenda 2040 as we honor the brave students who died in the 1976 Soweto Uprising.
Comments
Post a Comment