Child labour is one of the common exploitations taking place in the world at will and in great numbers. It means that a child below the age of 14 must not work and no can force him or her to work in any kind of field. It interferes with many rights of children like right to education, right to freedom and right to development. The worst form of it includes working as a Sex worker.
The President of Sudan officially launched the first ever Child Act for Southern Sudan. The director of Operations for UNICEF was on hand for the historical moment and said : “This legislation is a major milestone in creating a protective environment in which children can enjoy their rights to health, education and other basic services, to access information, to express their views, and to be protected from abuse, neglect, exploitation and harm.” The new laws prohibit neglect, violence and abuse of children and also must provide all minors with a full education. This will go a long way to helping the impoverished nation and all of its minors.
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A study of over 1000 children that have been abducted in Uganda has shown that over 40% suffer from some form of Post Dramatic Stress Disorder. 40% of all children held by the rebel forces for over one month suffered from PSTD and 27% of those held less than one month were affected. Most of the children that were held captive were recruited to become fighters for their militias noting that children are fearless fighters that are disposable and easy to maintain. Once released children would not report what has happened to them for fear that they would be found again in their homes.
China has unveiled its new human rights initiative that should be put into practice starting this year. There are several clauses that specifically deal with children which is a huge step forward for the biggest population in the world. Highlights include the prohibition of child labour which is a huge victory in itself. There are also provisions dealing with cracking down on child abduction and the human trafficking of minors. This is the first time that China has proposed such human welfare changes and one can only hope that putting them into practice will be done swiftly and without much resistance from the general population.
It maybe a tradition for the women of Sierra Leone to have their genitals cut and then be sent to the bush for up to 3 months as a right of passage but it has been having lots of negative effects on the country. It seems that the country has moved a step closer to solving some of its poverty woes by having village chiefs and local officials sign an agreement that would raise the initiation age to 18 yrs and make it voluntary. This should keep young women in school longer as they will not get pregnant as quickly and marry which causes them to drop out of school.