20 Years of Children's rights between law and practice

The Institute of Child Health, University College London held this conference from the 11th to the 12th of June. I was invited to speak at this conference. I would like to extend my thanks to the institute for giving African children this platform and to all the organisations that have supported me.

Child Rights: Entitlements or Luxuries? That which is mine but not mine.



HIV/AIDS impacts heavily on the lives of all children that it affects all their rights - civil, political, economic, social and cultural. At the beginning of this fight practitioners looked at HIV as a health issue. The way the virus has developed and spread in Africa has lead to the violation of all the children's rights.

A person once said Human Rights are carefully constructed english words adorning thick books but do nothing for the person on the ground.
To an activist that is insulting to a person on the ground there can never be a truer word spoken. Human rights are guidelines and tools set to help different individuals internationally. But you find that in many situations the tool they are never gets to the intended person. Different situations make this so and I will explore reasons that create that divide between the tool and the intended receipient.

The first is the socio-political climate in Zimbabwe.
The political landscape divides the population into haves and have nots and we will explore what this means for children. 

Haves

- access to GOOD education

- access to information TV and internet

- confident well versed - informed child

- aware of their rights and can advocate for them and know how best to get them

- the luxuries of their lives allow a right to be a right

- they have the luxury to demand their rights


Have nots

- access to basic education

- no internet or TV 

- often lacking in confidence 

- they often cannot afford to demand that which is not given



This is for any child imagine how it is when you factor in HIV and AIDS

The second factor is Culture and Religion

Culture and religion
The most disturbing thing about the influence of culture and religion on the access or lack of the rights of a child is that in the societies there their influence is so strong it is rarely if ever realised, and this leads to more abuse.

In Africa before formal education religion and culture are the education given to each child. The way of life as is is passed on to the children. As dynamic as our culture is there are practices that do not evolve, and you find a lot of these practices propel and support human rights abuses. The structure of African culture does not allow anyone to challenge the status quo.

Article 28 of the convention states that every child has the right to education. A child coming from a household with other siblings and whose primary care givers who are HIV positive, relinquishes all rights that they hold and take up survival at whatever cost in any way.

The video below shows you that in other children's lives child rights are indeed a luxury