Promoting child rights in Kenya - Pelastakaa Lapset ry
Promoting child rights in Kenya - Pelastakaa Lapset ry
Promoting child rights in Kenya - Pelastakaa Lapset ry
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3.3 Lessons Learned Incorporat<strong>in</strong>g the report<strong>in</strong>g process for the ACRWC <strong>in</strong>to that of the UNCRC has enabled<strong>Kenya</strong> to fulfil its report<strong>in</strong>g obligation as well as utilize resources effectively. Capacity build<strong>in</strong>g on the ACRWC and related <strong>child</strong> <strong>rights</strong> issues for members of theACERWC and CSOs (e.g. through the CSO Forum) results <strong>in</strong> better reports from NGOsand Conclud<strong>in</strong>g Observations from the Committee.4. Processes around Children Act 2001 and other relevant lawsIntroductionThe Government of <strong>Kenya</strong> enacted the Children Act <strong>in</strong> 2001 to, among other th<strong>in</strong>gs, consolidatethe laws on <strong>child</strong>ren <strong>in</strong> <strong>Kenya</strong> and to domesticate the UNCRC and the ACRWC which the Statehad ratified <strong>in</strong> 1989 and 2000 respectively. In its preamble, the Act makes provision for parentalresponsibility, foster<strong>in</strong>g, adoption, custody, ma<strong>in</strong>tenance, guardianship, care and protection of<strong>child</strong>ren; adm<strong>in</strong>istration of <strong>child</strong>ren's <strong>in</strong>stitutions; and giv<strong>in</strong>g effect to the pr<strong>in</strong>ciples of theConvention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of theChild and for connected purposes.The Act provides for the <strong>rights</strong> and welfare of all <strong>child</strong>ren <strong>in</strong> <strong>Kenya</strong> and def<strong>in</strong>es a <strong>child</strong> as “anyhuman be<strong>in</strong>g under 18 years”. The implementation of the Act is spearheaded by the governmentm<strong>in</strong>ist<strong>ry</strong> responsible for <strong>child</strong>ren affairs and the NCCS <strong>in</strong> partnership with stakeholders <strong>in</strong>volvedand engaged <strong>in</strong> work<strong>in</strong>g with <strong>child</strong>ren <strong>in</strong> <strong>Kenya</strong>. The Act has been undergo<strong>in</strong>g review with the mostcurrent be<strong>in</strong>g to harmonise its provisions with The Constitution of <strong>Kenya</strong>, 2010.4.1 Background to the enactment of the Children ActAfter the <strong>Kenya</strong>n government ratified the UNCRC <strong>in</strong> September, 1990, and as a measure ofdomestication of the <strong>in</strong>strument, the government set up a Task Force under the <strong>Kenya</strong> Law ReformCommission (KLRC) to collect views about the situation of <strong>child</strong>ren from all over the count<strong>ry</strong>. TheKLRC was established <strong>in</strong> 1982 as a prima<strong>ry</strong> government agency to spearhead law reform andreview processes <strong>in</strong> the count<strong>ry</strong>. The Task Force was headed by a High Court Judge with themandate to review and harmonize laws relat<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>child</strong>ren. CSOs were not represented <strong>in</strong> the TaskForce but through the NGO Child Rights Coalition they organized forums to solicit the views of theCSOs.The Task Force was also mandated to review laws related to <strong>child</strong>ren which were scattered <strong>in</strong> atleast 65 different statutes, a situation that made it difficult to offer full protection to <strong>child</strong>ren due tothe different def<strong>in</strong>itions of a <strong>child</strong>, among other issues of concern. This large number of laws<strong>in</strong>terfered with the timely and efficient realisation of <strong>child</strong>ren’s <strong>rights</strong>.In its report the Task Force recommended that a new <strong>child</strong> law should be enacted which "draws (asmay be appropriate) from all exist<strong>in</strong>g statutes touch<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>child</strong>ren, <strong>in</strong>corporates relevant pr<strong>in</strong>ciplesfrom the CRC and the ACRWC, and attempts to resolve various legal problems that affect the<strong>rights</strong> and welfare of <strong>child</strong>ren”.The <strong>in</strong>formation collected by the Task Force was used to prepare a Draft Child Bill which wasforwarded to the office of the Attorney General (AG) <strong>in</strong> 1995 for draft<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to a law on <strong>child</strong>ren.31