The protection of the rights of child offenders in pursuit of juvenile justice in selected African countries

Abstract

Children are among the most vulnerable populations in the world. Their vulnerability worsens when they are exposed to the law. Children in conflict with the law face numerous challenges and violation of their fundamental rights. The protection of their rights is a cause for concern and requires urgent attention from states, policymaker and social and civil organisations. In their quest to ensure that the rights of children are protected, the United Nations and African Union enacted several legal instruments. These legal instruments were enacted as a measure to preserve the rights of children. International standards provide a critical framework guiding national practices. These laws are binding to member states who are signatories to the legal instruments and who have ratified the legal instruments in their distinct jurisdictions. Previous studies that have been conducted have revealed that, although member states are signatory to the United Nations and African Union legislations and have made attempts to ratify these legal instruments, to date some of these member states are not effectively implementing these legal instruments. Consequently, the purpose of signing and ratifying these international law instruments is not being fully realised. Research has also proven that in some selected African countries, children in conflict with the law are ill-informed about their rights and end up being exploited. This study was therefore an attempt to bring to light a few of international laws that deal with the rights of child offenders, their purposes and aims. Findings of a comparative analysis of four selected African countries namely: South Africa, Kenya, Zambia and Zimbabwe are a confirmation of the gap that exists between enactment of legislation and implementation thereof. While these countries should be applauded for enacting legislation to protect the rights of children, there is evidence that they fall short of implementing the legislation thus failing to realise the purpose of the legislation. As a result, there is need to adopt best practice that resonates with the needs of children in conflict with the law.