African Children’s Right to Participate in their Own Protection

Abstract

The protection of children confronting adversity has become one of the central priorities of humanitarian interventions worldwide. The array of child-focused rights and protections established by international, regional and national frameworks provides a normative foundation guiding efforts to facilitate the (re)establishment of more secure conditions. Despite a rhetorical acknowledgement of participation as enhancing children’s provision and protection rights, much of children’s rights activism in Africa continues to emphasise a protectionist approach over an empowering one. Furthermore, actualising children’s rights constitutes a formidable challenge in fragile countries like South Sudan where difficult post-war conditions are compounded by significant discrepancies regarding the treatment of children in the various applicable legal systems. Advancing the view of children’s rights as a living practice moulded by children’s everyday realities, this paper discusses the situation of South Sudan as illustrative of the dilemmas of upholding the right of conflict-affected children in Africa to participate in their own protection.