Children are a vulnerable group, hence, they need special protections. Ratifying childrenprotecting instruments including the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) provide these protections. Botswana acceded to the CRC and ACRWC in 1995 and 2001 respectively. Beyond ratification and domestication of these instruments, however, rights must be asserted through justiciability mechanisms including State reports. Otherwise, they remain paper rights. This exploratory study investigated the question; ‘is Botswana complying with its reporting obligations?’ by interviewing key actors involved in meeting the reporting obligations on behalf of the government of Botswana. While the study consultants confirmed that Botswana is presently in breach of complying with reporting requirements for both the CRC and the ACRWC, the context for reporting is complex and important to consider. With enhancements to elements in this context that impact on reporting, this paper argues that it is not enough to merely ratify child-protecting conventions without ensuring their justiciability. The paper ends with recommendationsfor moving forward in Botswana to ensure child-friendliness, enforceability and justiciability of child-protecting conventions.

Projects

Currently no objects available

Currently no objects available