TECL II
Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the
Rights of the Child in November 1989 and it came into force in
September 1990.
The Convention is a logical development of Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, which acknowledged that children are entitled to special
care and recognition, and the 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the
Child, through which the General Assembly called upon the world to
recognise and support a range of children’s rights.
The Convention turns the Declaration’s moral call to action into
concrete responsibilities of states that ratify the document.
It asserts in the preamble that “the child should be brought up fully
prepared to live an individual life in society, and brought up in the
spirit of the ideals proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations,
and in particular in the spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom,
equality and solidarity”.
Status of SACU nations
| Country | Ratified or not | Date of ratification |
| Botswana | Ratified | 13 April 1995 |
| Lesotho | Ratified | 9 April 1992 |
| Namibia | Ratified | 30 October 1990 |
| South Africa | Ratified | 16 July 1995 |
| Swaziland | Ratified | 6 October 1995 |
Provisions on child labour
Article 32 deals specifically with child labour and the text is
reproduced below.
“1. States Parties recognise the right of the child to be protected
from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely
to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education, or to be
harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, moral or social
development.
“2. States Parties shall take legislative, administrative, social and
educational measures to ensure the implementation of the present
article. To this end, and having regard to the relevant provisions of
other international instruments, States Parties shall in
particular:
(a) Provide for a minimum age or minimum ages for admission to
employment.
(b) Provide for appropriate regulation of the hours and conditions
of
employment.
(c) Provide for appropriate penalties or other sanctions to ensure
the
effective enforcement of the present article.”
Provisions on sexual exploitation, trafficking and armed conflict
The trafficking of children, their sexual exploitation and use in
armed conflict are considered worst forms of child labour. The
Convention deals specifically with each of these.
Article 34 is an undertaking by ratifying states to take measures to
prevent:
- Inducement or coercion of a child to engage in any unlawful sexual activity.
- Exploitative use of children in prostitution or other unlawful sexual practices.
- Exploitative use of children in pornographic performances or materials.
Article 35 obliges states to take all appropriate national, bilateral
and multilateral measures to prevent the abduction of, sale of, or
traffic in children for any purpose and in any form.
Article 38 obliges states to refrain from recruiting children under the
age of 15 years into their armed forces and to give preference to older
candidates when recruiting from the 15-18 years age group. States shall
also take “all feasible measures” to ensure that children under 15
years do not take a direct part in hostilities.
Other articles related to child labour
The entire Convention has some relevance to child labour, but the
significance of the following articles is readily apparent:
Article 39 deals with measures to promote the physical and
psychological recovery and social integration of children who have been
exploited or abused.
Article 40 ensures the rights and special needs of children are
respected within law enforcement and judicial processes.
Article 28 asserts that primary education shall be made compulsory and
available free to all. It also encourages the development of secondary
education and vocational training to the extent that every child can
access these. It holds states responsible for taking measures to
encourage regular school attendance and reduce drop-out rates.
Article 31 says states must recognize the right of the child to rest
and leisure, play and recreational activity, and participation in
cultural life and the arts.
Accountability
The Convention creates a 10-member Committee on the Rights of the
Child, elected by states that have ratified the Convention. States are
required to report regularly to the Committee on progress and problems
in implementing the Convention and the Committee, in turn, reports to
the UN General Assembly.
Full text http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm
See also
Declaration of the rights of the child
African Charter on the Rights and the Welfare of the Child
Optional protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict
Optional protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution
and child pornography