Tuesday, 05 June 2012

What is the draft constitution promising for children in Zambia


The Media Network on Child Rights and Development hosted a discussion forum looking at the Draft Constitution and its provisions for children today, 5 June. The event was held at the Taj Pamodzi Hotel in Lusaka and was attended by various players including children.

The different speakers presented their views on the provisions of the draft constitution, identified gaps,  proposed amendments in some areas and identified new issues that have been omitted. The speaker from the Human Rights Commission of Zambia noted that Article 55 of the draft constitution (which looks at children) falls short in a number of areas. He pointed out that it proposes that education should be free but there are user fees for pupils – that is not free. He emphasized that education must be easily accessible to children and proper infrastructure must be in place. There are health facilities but there is a need for services dedicated to children above five years. These could be allocated within existing facilities.

The draft constitution talks about the abolishment of corporal punishment. The feeling was that this needs to be strengthened by other clauses within the constitution and legislation e.g. how is assault dealt with. There was a concern with the clause that talks about the protection of children who come in contact with the law. The current situation is that children stay in prison with their mothers who committed offenses. The welfare of these children is not provided for under laws guiding prisons. The recommendation was that these children should not be exposed to these environments beyond 48 hours.

At the moment Zambia is in the process of amending its legislation regarding refugees which leans towards repatriation of people most of which have been staying in Zambia for over 60 years in the case of one man. Most refugees do not have access to many services as they are not citizens. The current draft constitution is silent on the rights of refugee children. It does not make any pronouncements about their protection or rights. A recommendation was made that children born before the draft constitution is effective or those who are already in the country on refugee status should be made residents if they so wish and or should have full access to all services like any other child in the country.

 There were also concerns raised about the ‘age girls can marry’. The majority of the participants felt that the constitution should encourage children to stay at school. Some people felt that when certain things are discussed and legislation developed, customary law is not taken into consideration. In rural areas children are married off at a young age and that is considered normal. Its good to have a progressive constitution, but the state needs to find ways of enforcing the law and make sure that society at large implements its provisions. The general view was that the draft constitution makes provisions for the protection of children. There are however concerns that this is too general and not substantiated e.g. it notes that children on the streets are entitled to state protection (while it should be addressing that they should not be in the streets I the first place).

It was pointed out that there are a number of international conventions and protocols that Zambia is party to. The government needs to find a way of domesticating the tools that are available like the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC). Some of the children felt that there has been no involvement of children in the review of the constitution. They felt that the draft constitution should be available in local languages not just English. The provisions on children should be linked to the UNCRC and the ACRWC. They pointed out that the protection of children is very vague especially the re-entry into school of girls who got pregnant. The protection of children from harmful content is not mentioned in the document. It is actually silent on asking the media to provide content for children.

MNCRD is planning more similar events on various issues affecting children.