CHILD'S RIGHTS ACT/LAW IN NIGERIA: REALITY OR FARCE?

Following her ratification of regional and UN Conventions on the protection of the rights of a child, Nigeria in 2003 successfully domesticated the provisions of those international instruments in form of the Child’s Rights Act 2003. Shortly after that, advocacy shifted to state governments for the domestication of the provisions of the Act in their various states since the issue of protection of the rights of a child falls within the residual list of Nigerian constitution where the states have exclusive powers to legislate. Up to date, about two-third of the 36 states of the Federation has passed the law legally committing themselves to the protection of the rights of the child in their states. This is the reality. The passage of the Child’s Rights Act/Laws notwithstanding, the Nigerian child is still very far from enjoying the rights guaranteed under both international and domestic instruments. Children all over the country still suffer child trafficking, child labour, rape, torture, inhuman and degrading treatments, early marriage to mention but a few. This is the farce of the Child’s Rights Act/Laws in Nigeria. This paper attempts a critical look at the position of the Nigerian child against the background of the enactment of the Child’s Rights Act/Laws, whether the enactment has translated into better life for the Nigerian child or if the efforts were mere cosmetics? The paper concludes that though the legal framework for the protection of the Nigerian child had improved tremendously since 2003, this has not translated into any significant improvement in the condition of the Nigerian child.

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DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES AND THEIR EFFECTS ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS TO SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

It has become generally accepted as a truism that women are discriminated against and therefore generally disadvantaged worldwide. Though the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent international instruments like the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) entrenched, affirm and reaffirmed the principle of equality of all as a foundation for freedom, justice and peace in the world, women have continued to suffer discriminations starting from the period predating birth through girlhood to adulthood. Efforts at creating equal opportunities for women at political, economic and social planes have not achieved desired result due to deep-rooted cultural and religious abuses. This paper will attempt a quick look at socio-economic rights as enshrined in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), other international and domestic instruments with a view to establishing what constitute socio-economic rights. The paper will also discuss briefly the vexed issue of justiciability of socio-economic rights with a view to establishing that such rights are enforceable in Nigeria to the extent to which there are Acts or Law of the legislature promoting them. Finally, the paper will take a critical look at various discriminatory practices against women at all levels and how they constitute blockages to the realisation of rights to social and economic development with a conclusion that there are sufficient legal instruments to challenge such discriminatory practices in Nigerian courts.

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