A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

and protection of the human rights of children. The Advocates recommends the following:
• The Government of Liberia should recognize the right of the child to education. 64 (See also
Recommendations relating to education). With a view to achieving this right progressively
and on the basis of equal opportunity, the Government of Liberia should:
o Make primary education compulsory and
available free to all;
o Encourage the development of different
forms of secondary education, including
general and vocational education, make them
available and accessible to every child, and
take appropriate measures such as introducing
free education and offering financial assistance
in case of need;
o Make higher education accessible to all on
the basis of capacity by every appropriate
means; and
o Take measures to encourage regular attendance
at schools and to reduce drop-out
rates.
• The Government of Liberia should take “all appro-
priate legislative, administrative, social and educational
measures to protect children from all forms of
physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect
or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation,
including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s),
legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the
care of the child.” 66 These measures may include
“effective procedures for the establishment of social
programmes to provide necessary support for the
child and for those who have the care of the child,
as well as for other forms of prevention and for
identification, reporting, referral, investigation, treatment and follow-up of instances of child
maltreatment described heretofore, and, as appropriate, for judicial involvement.” 67
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Potential Implementation Strategy:
Peace and Human Rights Curricula
The Government of Liberia may
wish to consider incorporating
human rights, peacebuilding, and
conflict resolution into school
curricula. In 2004, working with
the Ministry of Education, UNICEF
assisted with the implementation
of a new “Peace and Tolerance”
curriculum that seeks to advocate
peace among children who likely
were impacted by the Côte
d’Ivoire’s civil unrest. 65 Also,
The Advocates has developed a
curriculum, The Road to Peace,
for ninth-graders through adult
learners on conflict resolution
and restoration of justice in the
aftermath of war, emphasizing the
processes that countries coming
out of conflict undertake to seek
resolution, address past human
rights abuses, reform their societies,
and heal from violence.
Potential Implementation Strategy:
Enacting Legislation that Promotes and Protects Children’s Rights
Chapter Fourteen
The Government of Liberia should consider enacting legislation similar to that of South Africa’s Child
Care Act, 1983. 68 The Child Care Act 1983 of South Africa incorporates many of the African Charter