16 Jun 2020

African children still face various challenges in their attempt to access justice, says Ms Malebogo Modiakgotla, the national OVC coordinator, child protection services.

 Speaking in an interview jUNE 16 to commemorate the Day of the African Child and the 16 June 1976 student uprisings in South Africa, Ms Modiakgotla  said despite developmental strides made by many African countries, African children still faced challenges to access justice.

   “Even though many African states have signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, domestication of these international protocols has not brought much relieve due to differences in assisting children to access child-friendly justice,” she said.

   She also noted that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Botswana did not commemorate the day as it had always been the norm to celebrate and protect the rights of the African child.

Ms Modiakgotla also said during the preliminary extreme social distancing period, her office registered a high number of child abuse cases.

“We have noticed that during disasters such as the ongoing pandemic the rights of children are neglected,” she said.

She added that most perpetrators were family members and neighbours known to the children.

She also said it proved to be a challenge because the perpetrators were often protected for socio-economic reasons by family members, adding that as a result the welfare of the child was compromised.

She called upon state parties to critically examine their justice systems to ensure that access to justice was a fundamental right, and an essential pre-requisite for the protection and promotion of all other human rights, particularly children.

Ms Modiakgotla further pleaded with the public to report cases of child abuse to relevant authorities. She said the country’s efforts towards a child-friendly and child-sensitive justice system should entail free legal aid and strong structures for the rehabilitation of children through psycho-social support.

Expanding further on the objectives of the commemoration, Ms Modiakgotla said Botswana re-affirmed the right to prioritise children and child’s rights in the implementation of Africa’s Agenda for Children 2040 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child as well as to raise national awareness about the achievements and challenges in the justice system in the provision of a child-friendly justice system.

This year’s theme was: Access to child-friendly justice in Africa, and Ms Modiakgotla highlighted that the African Committee of Experts on the rights chose the theme to underscore the challenges faced by children in Africa as they access justice in their respective countries.

In 1991, the African Union declared June 16 the Day of the African Child to celebrate the bravery of students in the South African liberation struggle. ENDS