Protection of Children’s Rights and Access to Child Justice in Zambia: An Enigma of the Principle of State Sovereignty

Abstract

Zambia faces violation of children’s rights as well as difficulties in accessing justice by children. This situation stems from interplay of various factors. Fundamentally, these include poor legislative framework, weak enforcement mechanisms for existent laws, and cultural influences which are chiefly manifested in the customary law. Consequently, several children are denied of opportunities to meaningfully live their lives and to actualize their full potentials as citizens. By building on the primary data which was collected from three Zambian rural districts and the review of appropriate literature, the article highlights lacunas in the Zambian legal framework. It also brings to the fore the practical challenges in ensuring protection of children’s rights and access to justice through enforcement of child-related laws. The article concludes that the spread of human rights as an international norm is far from becoming a universal reality. The absence of appropriate national laws, low awareness about children’s rights, and the lack of stakeholder’s participation in the protection of these rights hinder children’s protection and their access to justice in some sovereign states.

Keywords: Children, Rights, Violation, Protection, Justice, Sovereignty

DOI: 10.7176/IAGS/76-05

Publication date:September 30^th 2019