DITSHWANELO - The Botswana Centre for Human Rights joins the international community in commemorating the United Nations International Children’s Rights Day on 20 November 2002. This day marks the anniversary of the coming into force of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on 20 November 1989. Botswana ratified this convention in 1995. This is the most widely ratified international convention in the world. Somalia and the United States of America are the only two countries which have not yet ratified it.

DITSHWANELO is concerned that some children continue to be denied their fundamental rights as guaranteed in the CRC. Of particular concern in Botswana is the effect of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, as it deprives children of their rights to survival, development, protection, and participation in matters and actions, which affect them. Stigma and ignorance contribute towards discrimination against adults and children living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Other children of concern include those in difficult circumstances such as those working on the streets, child sex workers, children of school going age who are out of school, and children experiencing various forms of abuse.

As we celebrate the twelfth anniversary of the CRC, DITSHWANELO calls upon the Government of Botswana to fulfill its obligations of ensuring that mechanisms are put in place to implement the CRC. DITSHWANELO further calls for the speedy revision and reform of the laws regarding the rights of children in Botswana. An example of contradictory legislation is the law governing the legal age at which girls may marry, and the age at which girls may legally consent to sexual intercourse. Parents may consent to the marriage of their daughter from the age of fourteen (14), while it is illegal for a man to have sex with a girl below the age of sixteen (16). If the intention of the law is to protect young girls engaging in sexual activity before they are physiologically mature, these laws need to be harmonised.

A bright future for Botswana can only be realised if children are guaranteed their rights under the CRC. Children need to be aware that every right claimed is accompanied by a corresponding responsibility. Taking the central principles of the CRC as a guide, the country’s leaders should continue trying to ensure that children’s rights and responsibilities are realised. The government took a step in the right direction with the review of the Children’s Act to incorporate the CRC into Botswana laws. DITSHWANELO urges the government to revise all laws and policies affecting children in order to make the CRC a part of the national laws of Botswana.

20 November 2002
Gaborone