Nigeria failed to submit report on status of Convention on Rights for 13 years, says UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said that for 13 consecutive years, the Nigerian government failed to submit a report on the status of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to the Committee on CRC.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the body of 18 independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by its States parties and all states parties are obliged to submit regular reports to the Committee on how the rights of children are being implemented.

UNICEF’s Child Protection Specialist, Fatimah Adamu, who disclosed this at a Two Day Media Dialogue on the New Country Programme 2023 – 2027 and Status of the Implementation of the Child Rights Law in the States, stated that the last report on the CRA was submitted in 2010 adding that Nigeria’s failure to submit subsequent reports means that critical issues affecting children are not being brought to the forefront of public attention.

She said: “The CRA act is about safeguarding the rights of those who are seldom heard—the vulnerable children. Failing to protect and listen to them carries significant consequences, training program for journalists, light on the four crucial principles of the CRC, including prioritizing the best interests of the child, guaranteeing children’s rights to survival and development, allowing children to freely express their views on matters affecting them, and ensuring that all children enjoy the rights outlined in the CRC without discrimination.”

Adamu decried the absence of family courts in Nigeria, stressing that only three out of 32 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have established such courts.

According to her , this deficiency severely hampers the effective implementation of the Child Rights Act (CRA) across the country.

“Out of the 31 states and the FCT that have passed the CRA, Bauchi State remains the only state that has not yet enacted the act,” Adamu stated.

“It is imperative that we have family courts in all states that have adopted the CRA. Without them, where will cases involving children be adjudicated? The absence of family courts undermines the protection and representation of vulnerable children, and this negligence has grave implications.”

She called on all tiers of government to improve the administration of justice for children in the country.

Earlier, a Chief Information Officer in the Child Rights Information Bureau (CRIB) of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Temitoye Falayi, said that the country program document focuses on key areas where the Nigerian government requires UNICEF’s support, knowledge, and financial assistance such as health, nutrition, basic education, and social policy advocacy.