Project Description

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
International law takes special interest concerning children worldwide. This is due to the fact that children are the most vulnerable and powerless members of the society dominated by adults. World leaders believe that children deserve adequate protection so that they can grow to preserve the human race. Most times, children are considered to be the future of any society. The establishment of legal and institutional frameworks were being put in place by world leaders in other to ensure the protection and promotion of the rights of the child.
In the antiquity, nobody gave special protection to children. In the middle age children were considered as small adults. In the middle of the 19th century, the idea appears in France to give children special protection, enabling the progressive development of “minors‟ rights”. Since 1881, French laws included the right for the children to be educated.
During the 1980s, many child rights activists claimed that, as children are human beings and the subjects of all human rights, they did not need a special human rights instrument devoted to them as a group. Yet it is clear from current histories of child rights that children are viewed as objects of rights in a discourse of welfare concern more often than they are recognised as subjects of rights. (Judith 2000) The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is innovative in making it clear that, with respect to international human rights law, children are active subjects. They not only require certain forms of protection in addition to the “normal” entitlements of human rights law, they also require special forms of protection because they are in a vulnerable position, both legally and developmentally. These entitlements include the right to have their opinion taken into consideration when adults take decisions on their behalf (Article 12), to express their views (Article 13) and to join or form associations to represent their own interests (Article 15).
The modern era of international human rights law can be said to begin with the establishment of the UN system after the 1939-1945 Second World War, specifically with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The Declaration clearly established the principle that nations that are members of an intergovernmental body, such as the UN, can intervene in the domestic affairs of other states to ensure that citizens’ rights are respected. A number of other treaties followed the Universal Declaration, dealing with different groups of persons and rights. But rights are indivisible. The CRC is only conceivable, and can only be implemented, if it is seen in the context of the international human rights agenda in its entirety. In the Preamble to the Convention this is made clear through reference to preceding human rights instruments. Rights that are not spelt out in the CRC, but which applied to children before it was drafted and adopted, include consideration of their special needs and vulnerability in times of armed conflict, as well as protection against trafficking, exploitative work, torture and prostitution. (Judith, 2000).
Nevertheless, United Nations International Children‟s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was instrumental in promoting the widespread ratification of the UN Convention through organising the 1990 World Summit for Children. This meeting of 71 world leaders in New York was the largest ever meeting of heads of state and had the objective of obtaining their signatures to this new human rights document. In this respect it was supremely successful. It is part of the overall myth of the CRC (appearing to be a compulsory preface to any account — historical or otherwise) that no other piece of human rights law has come into force so rapidly, nor received quite so much public attention. (Judith, 2000),…………….

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The background information provided above shows that inspite of the global, regional and national efforts put in place for the protection of the right of child and also for the promotion of the right of the child, there is still an extensive violation of the rights of the child both globally and nationally .Violation of the rights of the child is a continuous case in Nigeria. In assessing the child‟s right law in Nigeria, the question to be addressed here include, how has the provisions of Child Right‟s Act in Nigeria and UN convention affected the fortunes of the Nigerian child in terms of the child‟s right to life, education, health, protection against economic exploitation and access to justice? This research seeks to identify causes of children rights violation and abuse and also recommend how these rights can be protected and promoted thus preparing the next generation of Nigerian leaders. It is also intended to examine whether the government of Nigeria have the political will, sincerity and commitment to enforce and implement the existing child‟s right law in Nigeria.
1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In assessing the Domestication of International Child Rights Law in Nigeria during the period under focus, this study intends to ask the following relatable questions:- To what extent has the provisions of the UN convention and the child rights act been faithfully implemented in Nigeria?
– Are there any institutional mechanisms to ensure that these laws are enforced to their logical conclusions?
– Do Nigerian children enjoy all their fundamental rights as provided by the Child Rights Law?
– What can be considered to be the panacea for the effective promotion and protection of child rights in the country?
1.4 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The aims of this study are;
– To examine the extent in which UN convention and the Child Rights Act have been effectively implemented in Nigeria
– To discover whether there are institutional mechanisms for the enforcement of the Child Rights Law in Nigeria.
– To ascertain whether Nigerian children enjoy all their fundamental rights as provided by the Child Rights Law.
– To suggest possible solutions for the effective promotion and protection of Child Rights in Nigeria.
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS.
A hypothesis as described by Kepler (2000) is a prediction of what can be seen in the world of reality. Its formulation is significant in research work; functioning as a link between the world of theory and reality, showing the direction of data analysis and helping in the organisation of the research report. Hypothesis are assumptions made by the researcher in order to test the theoretical framework of the research through empirical analysis of data collected to enable him arrive at a reasonable conclusion as whether or not the hypothesis is valid or not.
Two types of hypothesis; Null Hypothesis (H0) and Alternate Hypothesis (H1) will be adopted for the problem under study.
1. H0 : UN convention and the existing provisions of Child Rights Act have not been effective in preventing Child Rights violation in Nigeria.
H1 : UN convention and the existing provisions of child rights Act have been effective in preventing child rights violation in Nigeria.
2. H0: The Nigerian government does not have the political will, sincerity and commitment to enforce the Child Rights Law in Nigeria.
H1: The Nigerian government does has the political will, sincerity and commitment to enforce the Child Rights Law in Nigeria.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The study is significant in that it concerns a segment of the Nigerian population which if well-handled can make available necessary basis for fundamental transformation of the Nigerian society. This is due to the fact that the greatness of any country lies not only on the adult population but tactically on children that are to be trained to become future leaders of the nation. The study will also contribute to

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