Afua Twum Imoh

Children's Lives in an Era of Children's Rights: The Progress of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Africa - Routledge Research in Human Rights Law Afua Twum Imoh 1.º edición

Brief Description: "The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which was adopted unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989, marked a turning point in the perception of children in international law and policy. Although it was hoped that the Convention would have a significant and positive impact on the lives of all children, this has not happened in many parts of the world. This edited volume, based on empirical research and Non-Governmental project data, explores the progress of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and to a lesser extent, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, in nine African countries in the 25 years since it was adopted by the UN General Assembly. The book considers the implementation of the Convention both in terms of policy and practice, and its impact on the lived experiences of children in societies across the continent, focusing on specific themes such as HIV/AIDS, education and disability, child labour, witchcraft stigmatisation, armed conflict and religion. The book breaks new ground in blending legal and social perspectives of the experiences of children, and identifies concrete ways forward for the better implementation of the CRC treaty in the various political contexts that exist in Africa. This book will be useful to students and researchers of law, childhood studies, social policy and African studies"--Biographical Note: Afua Twum-Danso Imoh is a Lecturer in the Sociology of Childhood at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on constructions of childhood, children s rights and parent-child relationships in Africa. She is co-editor of "Childhoods at the Intersection of the Local and Global" (Palgrave, 2012). Nicola Ansell is Reader in Human Geography at Brunel University. Her research focuses on young people s experiences of social change in southern Africa. She is the author of "Children, Youth and Development" (Routledge, 2005) and directs an MA in Children, Youth and International Development. Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.; The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which was adopted unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989, marked a turning point in the perception of children in international law and policy. Although it was hoped that the Convention would have a significant and positive impact on the lives of all children, this has not happened in many parts of the world. This edited volume, based on empirical research and Non-Governmental project data, explores the progress of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and to a lesser extent, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, in nine African countries in the 25 years since it was adopted by the UN General Assembly. The book considers the implementation of the Convention both in terms of policy and practice, and its impact on the lived experiences of children in societies across the continent, focusing on specific themes such as HIV/AIDS, education and disability, child labour, witchcraft stigmatisation, armed conflict and religion. The book breaks new ground in blending legal and social perspectives of the experiences of children, and identifies concrete ways forward for the better implementation of the CRC treaty in the various political contexts that exist in Africa. This book will be useful to students and researchers of law, childhood studies, social policy and African studies--; Provided by publisher. Table of Contents: Acknowledgements -- Table of cases -- Table of legislation -- Introduction -- Part I. Concepts -- 1. The Council of Europe, transitional justice and the universality of human rights -- 1.1. The Council of Europe -- 1.1.1. The Council of Europe, human rights and democracy -- 1.1.2. The Genesis of the European Convention on Human Rights -- 1.1.3. Enlargement of the Council of Europe -- 1.1.4. Implications of enlargement -- 1.2. Transitional justice -- 1.2.1. The Council of Europe and dismantling communism -- 1.2.2. Transitional justice -- 1.2.3. Transitional justice in the Council of Europe -- 1.2.4. Transitional justice and human rights: the odd couple -- 1.3. The universality of human rights and transitional relativism -- 1.3.1. The universality debate -- 1.3.2. The universality debate at the ECHR: the margin of appreciation -- 1.3.3. Transitional justice and universality -- 1.4. Conclusion -- Part II. Cases -- Section A. The ECHR and transitional policies -- A.1. Introduction -- 2. Transitional criminal justice: prosecution and amnesty -- 2.1. Introduction -- 2.2. Successor trials and retroactivity -- 2.2.1. Setting the tone: the Berlin Wall cases -- 2.3. Dealing with the communist past -- 2.3.1. The developing orthodoxy -- 2.3.2. Korbely v Hungary -- 2.4. Dealing with the pre-Communist past: the Kononov case and 'historical truth' -- 2.5. Conclusion -- 3. Openness, secrecy and historical justice -- 3.1. Introduction -- 3.2. The right to truth -- 3.3. PACE Resolution 1096 and historical justice -- 3.4. The Convention as a foundation for access to secret information -- 3.4.1. Access to secret information during lustration proceedings -- 3.4.2. Openness and historical research -- 3.5. Historical justice, memorialisation and matters of 'purely historical fact' -- 3.6. Conclusion -- 4. Reparatory justice and the restitution of property -- 4.1. Introduction -- 4.1.1. International human rights law as a basis for reparatory justice -- 4.1.2. PACE and reparatory justice -- 4.2. The European Convention as a foundation for restitution claims -- 4.2.1. Temporal scope of the Convention -- 4.2.2. Material scope of the Convention -- 4.3. The European Convention and the supervision of restitution schemes -- 4.3.1. The 'legitimacy' of restitution schemes -- 4.3.2. The scope of restitution policies -- 4.3.3. Proportionality and a fair balance': reparatory justice for victims of communism -- 4.3.4. Proportionality and a fair balance': effecting constitutional and economic reforms -- 4.4. Procedural justice and restitution -- 4.4.1. Positive obligations -- 4.4.2. The applicability of Article 6 ECHR to restitution proceedings -- 4.4.3. The effect of Article 6 ECHR on restitution proceedings -- 4.4.4. Reparatory justice and 'pilot judgments' -- 4.5. Conclusion -- 5. Lustration -- 5.1. Introduction -- 5.1.1. The European Court's early approach to lustration: pre-PACE Resolution 1096 -- 5.1.2. PACE Resolution 1096 and lustration -- 5.2. The European Convention and the 'legitimacy' of lustration processes -- 5.3. Proportionality in the lustration process -- 5.4. Procedural justice and lustration -- 5.4.1. The applicability of Article 6 ECHR to lustration processes -- 5.4.2. The effect of Article 6 on lustration processes -- 5.5. Conclusion -- Section B. Democratic rights in the transitional context -- B.1. Introduction -- B.2. The centrality of democracy in the ECHR -- B.3. Democratic rights in the European Convention -- B.4. Article 17 and 'gatekeepers' of the democratic rights -- 6. Freedom of expression -- 6.1. Introduction -- 6.1.1. The media and political speech: a recipe for' reservations? -- 6.2. Freedom of expression: 'transitional' arguments by the Respondent State -- 6.3. Freedom of expression: 'echoes' of totalitarianism and systemic problems -- 6.3.1. Press intimidation and censorship -- 6.3.2. Political expression about the transition itself -- 6.3.3. 'Wild' lustration and the relationship between Articles 8 and 10 ECHR -- 6.4. Conclusion -- 7. Freedom of assembly and (religious) association -- 7.1. Introduction -- 7.2. Freedom of peaceful assembly -- 7.2.1. Freedom of assembly: 'transitional' arguments by the Respondent State -- 7.2.1.1. Clarifying 'peaceful' assembly in transition -- 7.2.2. Freedom of assembly: 'echoes' of totalitarianism and systemic problems -- 7.2.2.1. A culture of popular protest -- 7.2.2.2. A culture of popular protest and content-based restrictions -- 7.2.2.3. Notification regimes and spontaneous assemblies -- 7.2.2.4. The quality of domestic law and freedom of peaceful assembly -- 7.2.2.5. Procedural justice and freedom of peaceful assembly -- 7.2.2.6. Freedom of peaceful assembly and emergency situations -- 7.2.3. Conclusions on freedom of assembly -- 7.3. Freedom of association -- 7.3.1. 'Transitional' arguments by the Respondent State -- 7.3.1.1. Communist parties, extremism and separatism: 'self-defending' democracy -- 7.3.1.1.1. The 'classic' law: the German post-war Basic Law and 'wehrhafte Demokratie' -- 7.3.1.1.2. Building on the 'classic1 law: events in Turkey -- 7.3.1.1.3. The post-Cold War era -- 7.3.1.1.4. Self-defending democracy: ethnic and national tensions in transition -- 7.3.1.1.4.1. Macedonians in Bulgaria -- 7.3.1.1.4.2. Bulgarians in Macedonia -- 7.3.1.1.5. Reflections on communist parties, extremism and separatism: 'self-defending' democracy -- 7.3.1.2. Decontaminating the state apparatus -- 7.3.1.3. Religion as a stabilising factor -- 7.4. Freedom of association: 'echoes' of totalitarianism and systemic problems -- 7.4.1. Conclusions on freedom of association -- 8. Free elections -- 8.1. Introduction -- 8.2. 'Transitional' arguments by the Respondent State -- 8.2.1. The legacy of Zdanoka: 'self-consolidating' democracies, transitional relativism and the question of timing -- 8.3. Free elections: 'echoes' of totalitarianism and systemic problems -- 8.3.1. Loyalty and fitness to stand for election -- 8.3.2. Ethnicity and nationality-based restrictions: the question of timing revisited -- 8.4. Conclusion -- Part III. Conclusions -- 9. Universality in transition -- 9.1. Does the European Court of Human Rights 'do' transitional justice? -- 9.1.1. The first level of interaction -- 9.1.2. The second level of interaction -- 9.1.2.1. Collaborators and communists -- 9.1.2.2. The use and abuse of legitimate aims -- 9.1.2.3. Precision of the restrictive measure/proximity to the transition -- 9.1.2.4. Self-consolidating democracy -- 9.1.3. Fashioning a transitional jurisprudence -- 9.1.4. Applying the transitional jurisprudence -- 9.2. Universality in transition: implications of transitional relativism -- Index. Publisher Marketing: The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which was adopted unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989, marked a turning point in the perception of children in international law and policy. Although it was hoped that the Convention would have a significant and positive impact on the lives of all children, this has not happened in many parts of the world. This edited volume, based on empirical research and Non-Governmental Organisation project data, explores the progress of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and to a lesser extent, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, in nine African countries in the 25 years since it was adopted by the UN General Assembly. The book considers the implementation of the Convention both in terms of policy and practice, and its impact on the lived experiences of children in societies across the continent, focusing on specific themes such as HIV/AIDS, education and disability, child labour, witchcraft stigmatisation, street children, parent-child relationships and child participation. The book breaks new ground in blending legal and social perspectives of the experiences of children, and identifies concrete ways forward for the better implementation of the CRC treaty in the various political contexts that exist in Africa.