1st Edition

Children's Rights in Africa A Legal Perspective

Edited By Julia Sloth-Nielsen Copyright 2008
    364 Pages
    by Routledge

    362 Pages
    by Routledge

    This collection is anchored in an African conception of children's rights and the law, and reflects contemporary discourses taking place in the region of the children's rights sphere. The majority of contributors are African and adopt an individual approach to their topic which reflects their first-hand experience. The book focuses on child rights issues which have particular resonance on the continent and the chapters span themes which are both broad and narrow, containing subject matter which is both theoretical and illuminated by practice. The book profiles recent developments and experiences in furthering children's legal rights in the African context, and distils from these future trends the specific role that the law can play in the African children's rights environment.

    Biography

    Julia Sloth-Nielsen is Professor of Law at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. She has published extensively in South Africa and internationally and has served on the editorial board of the International Journal on Children's Rights since 1996.

    'Virtuoso and indispensable resource on children's legal and human rights from the unique perspective of the African context. This volume breaks new ground, firmly rooting the tragic and too familiar calamities of child hunger, displacement, AIDs, and violence in the surprisingly fresh terrain being cultivated to promote a vibrant child-rights agenda with specifically African solutions.' Bernardine Dohrn, Northwestern University School of Law, Chicago, US 'This book not only reflects the many problems African children are facing but also elaborates on the strong potential of child rights implementation illustrated with concrete examples. It provides a unique and comprehensive overview of the many aspects of the developments and experiences in furthering the respect for and the implementation of the rights of African children. A very welcome tool for practitioners, politicians and researchers in the field of children's rights in Africa.' Jaap E. Doek, Former chairperson (2001 - 2007) of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child '...[this] book is very well conceived and rounded off. The contributions of an excellent pool of authors have been integrated and edited to read as parts of a whole. Children's Rights in Africa: A legal perspective is a path-breaking work. It is both an extremely useful source for lobbying and activism, and an indispensable starting point for research on children's rights in Africa.' African Human Rights Law Journal '...packed with information and analysis not really available elsewhere...this is an important book. And it is important not just for those who advocate children's rights, but also for anyone with an interest in Africa, in the role of law, in culture, and in the many global problems which confront African Society (HIV/AIDS, poverty, war, child labour). It can be recommended as an excellent course book. I would expect to find it on reading lists everywhere.' International Journal of Children's Rights