Authored and Released By: Child Rights International Network (CRIN)
Malawi has been ranked as 152nd in the world on how effectively children can use the courts to defend their rights according to new research from Child Rights International Network (CRIN).
The new report, ‘Rights, Remedies and Representation’, takes into account whether children can bring lawsuits when their rights are violated, the legal resources available to them, the practical considerations for taking legal action and whether international law on children’s rights is applied in national courts.
Malawi has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention takes precedence over national law, apart from the Constitution. It is directly applicable in the national courts, although it has not been fully incorporated into the national legal system. The courts have broad powers to hear legal challenges by children which must be brought through a guardian or “next friend”. The law is not clear as to the age of majority or the definition of a child. Malawi does have a legal aid programme but there are issues with its implementation. As well as this, most Malawians cannot access the formal legal mechanisms, so non-state institutions such as traditional family counsellors, or religious leaders are frequently used instead. After national remedies have been exhausted, complaints can be lodged with the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the African Commission and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Achieving access to justice for children is a work in progress and the report represents a snapshot of the ways children’s rights are protected across the world. The report condenses findings from 197 country reports, researched with the support of hundreds of lawyers and NGOs and is intended to help countries improve access to justice for children nationally.
Director of CRIN, Veronica Yates, said: “While the report highlights many examples of systems poorly suited to protecting children’s rights there are also plenty of people using the courts to effectively advance children’s rights.
“Our ranking represents how well States allow children access to justice rather than how well their rights are enshrined. However, it is hard to ignore how many countries with deplorable human rights records are on the lower end of the ranking for children’s access to justice.”
In the foreword of the report the chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child Benyam Dawit Mezmur said: “The Committee welcomes this research and already envisages its concrete contribution to its various engagements with State Parties.
“Child rights standards in international instruments do not mean much for the lived reality of children if they are not implemented. In particular, if the fundamental rights of children are violated, it is critical that children or those acting on their behalf have the recourse, both in law and in practice, to obtain a remedy to cease, prohibit and/or compensate for the violation.
“I hope this study is only the beginning of a new shift in making access to justice for children a priority that will enable other rights to be fulfilled.”
Denitsa Mladenova
Legal Researcher
Child Rights International Network (CRIN)
The Foundry
17 Oval Way
London
SE11 5RR
United Kingdom
+44 (0)20 3752 5658
The views and conclusions expressed or drawn in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Maravi Post
