Zimbabwe National Council for the Welfare
Of Children
PVO 385/68
Keeping Children safe in Africa
By Mr. T Nyanhete
Keeping Children safe in Africa
Introduction
 Children constitute a significant proportion of the African population
estimated to be around 1, 033,000,000.
 These children are exposed everyday to all forms of abuses which include but
not limited to, being forced into early marriages (Child marriages, child
labour, sexual abuse, child soldiering,) this all is at detriment of their
education.
 Further to that children in Africa are also vulnerable to natural disasters, e.g.
Tokwe Mukosi, various cases of floods.
 It is also to be noted that in Africa there is the highest number of children
living on the streets
 In addition to that is the issue of children and HIV/AIDS, Africa has a
challenge with paediatric antiretroviral drugs.
Situation of Children in Africa
most African
countries have ratified regional and international
conventions that safeguard the welfare of its children
However, lack policies that compliment and enforce the same conventions
that they purport to abide by
African countries lack clear polices that deal with Climate Change which
is not only a reality but proving to have disastrous consequences for
children in almost all spheres of their wellbeing

Climate Change has and continues to threaten the existence of children
on the continent and it is entirely up to us to protect our own.
What is climate change?

It is the change in the earth’s climate patterns
especially as experienced from the mid 20th century.

This change is largely due to increased levels of
carbon dioxide build up in the atmosphere resulting in a
disastrous green house effect.

This change is due to burning of fossil fuels for energy
production, industrial activities, and deforestation among other
activities
Climate Change (Cont’d)
 Climate
change has largely contributed to the burden of diseases which include but not
limited to malaria, diarrhoea, typhoid and bilharzias. Hence children in Zimbabwe and
Africa became susceptible to these diseases.

Climate change does not only affect children through spread of more communicable
disease but threatens food security as flash floods and droughts are becoming more and
more severe of note is the recent Tokwe Mukosi flash floods.

Governments and its citizens take environmental preservation initiatives very seriously
such as more environmentally friendly agricultural activities, power generation such as use
of solar energy instead power generation that emits carbon gases into the atmosphere.
Healthy environment for a healthy generation
Climate Change (CONT’D)
 Child
Safeguarding is at community level as an extension of Child
Protection hence the need to educate the public on climate changes to
adopt more environmentally friendly attitude towards everything they
do.
 The
Zimbabwean government in its quest to address issues of climate
change set up the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) which
monitors how organizations, institutions and farmers are impacting the
environment. Areas od operation span from rural, urban and farming
community emphasizing environmental preservation.
 Climate change has been added into the schools curriculum, pupils and
students are being educated on this very imported subject; however,
the level of practical involvement is still very low
Children need to be safe
Children and climate change
 There
may seem to be no apparent link between protecting
children and issues of climate change, however, the broad view
should be adopted so as to ensure that the future generation
does not look at our generation and ask why we allowed the
environment to deteriorate without doing anything to stop and
repair it.
 Keeping children safe
in Africa therefore only begins at the
policy formulation level where children are involved in policy
formulation and implementation.
 There
is need to take the initiative into communities and raise
awareness on disaster management and child safeguarding
A Case For Zimbabwe
 The
Zimbabwean government created the Victim
Friendly System for the protection of children.

The Zimbabwe Republic Police which is in charge
of this system continued the implementation of the
Child Friendly Police Stations initiative and to
date, there are Victim Friendly Units Police
Officers representing 100% of police stations and
police posts in all regions have been trained on
child protection.
 This
system diverts children in contact or conflict
with the law from the normal court system in a
way that ensures their maximum protection.
A Case For Zimbabwe (cont’d)

The Victim friendly Court System protects children in the following
ways:

The child is provided with a support person
proceedings.

Availability of closed
specialized Courts.

Use of an Intermediary a specialist interpreter to work with the child
during the court proceedings.

Use of anatomically correct dolls for child survivors and witnesses.

Allowing judicial staff to behave less formally before and during trial.

There is need to in cooperate climate change issues and disaster
management
circuit
television
during
Court
(CCTV)
in
all
Circumstances children are
living under
Abuse (physical/mental)
 Disability
 Trafficking
 Prostitution
 Child labour
 The girl child is prone to child marriages

The African child requires more protection as they are exposed to
many other challenges in addition to the challenges mentioned
earlier.
Traditional African views which often conflict with children's
rights
 Children born out of wedlock
 Armed conflict
 Children as beggars
 Inability to return to school after pregnancy
 Access to clean water, food, shelter and health facilities

Poverty
 Social Exclusion/Pressures
 Cultural and Traditional Beliefs
 Illiteracy
 Gender Inequality
 Importance placed on female virginity
 School dropouts


Health complications - early sexual activity and childbearing,



High Maternal and Child Mortality
Illiteracy
Poverty - intergenerational cycle of poverty: deterrent to




Domestic Violence
Sexual Abuse
Social Isolation
Compromised Women’s Rights
STI/D, HIV)
development





There has been a range of responses by the legal framework, both at
the national and international level, to eradicate the harmful practice
of child marriage on the basis of human rights.
Constitution of Zimbabwe Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR)
Convention on the Elimination all Forms of Discrimination against
Women (CEDAW)
Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC)
Zimbabwe is renowned for having exemplary social
protection systems in Africa. However there is need to bring
coherence between the systems level and the operations
level. Hence the need to Harmonize the instruments.
The recently promulgated new Constitution of Zimbabwe - 2013
 Social Welfare Assistance Act - 2001
 Children’s Act - 2005
 Guardianship of Minors Act - 2002
 Deceased Persons Family Maintenance Act – 2001
 Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act – 2004
 Public Service Act - 2006

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Birth and Death Registration Act- 2001
Education Act - 2001
Domestic Violence Act - 2006
Children’s Protection and Adoption Act – 1995
Labour Act - 2002
Trafficking Act (recently presented to cabinet)
Maintenance Act - 2005
Children’s Act - 2002
Sexual Offences Act – 2001
Child Abduction Act - 1995
Customary Marriages Act (Traditional marriage) - 1983
 Marriage Act (Civil marriage) - 1983
 The National Action Plan for OVC

 Phase I - 2004
 Phase II - 2010
National Orphan Care Policy - 1999
 The National Orphan Care Policy - 1999
 Child Protection Committees - 1999
 The Victim Friendly System

• ZNCWC as the umbrella body in the Child Rights Sector, is
committed to a ZERO tolerance approach to all forms of child
abuse, thus ZNCWC bears a Child Protection Policy with an overall
GOAL: To protect children from all forms of abuse in Zimbabwe.
Guiding Principles
• Zero tolerance of child abuse
• Recognition of the best interests of the child
• Sharing responsibility for child protection
• Use of a risk management approach
Values, principles and beliefs
All child abuse involves the abuse of children’s rights.
 All children have equal rights to protection from abuse and exploitation.
The situation of all children must be improved through promotion of their
rights as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This
includes the right to freedom from abuse and exploitation. Article (19)
Child abuse is never acceptable
We have a commitment to protecting children
 When we work through partners, they have are responsibility to meet
minimum standards of Child Protection Policy for children in their
programmes
What we will do
• We will meet our commitment to protect children from abuse
through the following means:
1. Awareness: we will ensure that all staff and others are
aware of the problem of child abuse and the risks to
children.
2. Prevention: we will ensure, through awareness and good
practice, that staff and others never abuse children.
Zero tolerance of child abuse:
Child abuse is not tolerated by ZNCWC nor is possession of or
access to child pornography. ZNCWC actively manages risks of
child abuse associated with persons directly and indirectly
working with children
ZNCWC will not knowingly engage, directly or indirectly,
anyone who poses an unacceptable risk to children, nor
recommend any individual or organization that does not meet
ZNCWC child protection compliance standards in their
operations and activities.
Recognition of the best interests of children
Zimbabwe is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights
of the Child, and ZNCWC is committed to upholding the rights and
obligations of the convention ZNCWC recognizes that some children, such
as Children with disabilities and children living in areas impacted by
disasters (natural or conflict based), are particularly vulnerable.
Sharing responsibility for child protection:
To effectively manage risks to children ZNCWC requires the active support
and cooperation of contractors, NGOs and child welfare organisations.
Contractors and NGOs must meet the terms of the child protection policy
and will be held accountable, through contracts and audits, for complying
with it. ZNCWC also encourages awareness of child protection issues
among international and whole-of-government partners
Risk management approach
While it is not possible to eliminate all risk of child abuse, careful
management can reduce the incidence of child abuse associated
with aid activities. This policy introduces risk assessments and
treatments for a range of recognized risks to children.
• CODE OF CONDUCT
treat children with respect regardless of race, color, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin,
property, disability, birth or other status
Recommendations

Children should be consulted during the policy formulation process so as to avoid prescribing policies that are not
child friendly.

The effects of Climate change should be factored in Health policies such as the spread of more communicable
disease.

African governments should put more effort into initiatives that address climate so as to create a clean, safe child
friendly environment.

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Civil society organizations working with children should have Child Protection Policies
Conclusion
Children
are the future of Africa and safeguarding their
welfare should be a priority for Africa as a whole
children
are subjected to the harmful effects of climate
change and there is need to mitigate these effects for the
benefit of our children.
Policies
should be more child-friendly and this can only be
achieved if the full participation of children is factored into
the policy formulation process.