Thousands of children in the world face daily violations. Rarely a day goes by without a child being subjected to abuse and violations. What are the forms and motivations for child abuse and how does it manifest?

Violence against a child causes damage, pain and suffering to the child victim. A child’s sanctity can be perpetuated on an equal level by parents, guardians, close family friends, or strangers.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) articles (17), (19),(23),(25),(27),(29),(32) and (39)children can face:

Physical abuse: This can manifest itself in severe beatings and may expose a child to fractures and contusions, bruises, wounds, burns; involving them in physical activities and unethical practices. This can also manifest in depriving the child from physical and psychological necessities such as food, clothing, adequate shelter and the necessary medical care, as well as subjecting the child to rape, torture and self-harm. 
Psychological abuse: Includes authoritarianism, intimidation and exaggerated blame. According to CRC articles (13) (14), abuse includes depriving the child of the right to learn and to obtain knowledge. Abuse against children causes many difficulties in the development of the child, including isolation, depression, negatively affected socialization skills. 

Recruitment or use of children in armed conflict 
Millions of children are victims of conflict, because they are easy targets. Such victims suffer on many levels: 
Children are generally vulnerable due to their age, lack of strength and lack of awareness. They are less likely to speak up as they are unlikely to know that physical abuse is wrong. Malnutrition, diseases, disabilities, lack of shelter and poverty all contribute to the vulnerability of the child. Special measures for the protection of children from such severe and terrible abuse and the exploitation of their rights must be addressed.

Even though the provisions of international humanitarian and human rights laws are in place, including vital structures such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, children's rights are clearly still being violated. Child recruitment in conflict still occurs in many parts of the world.

Child labour 
According to a 2013 report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) ‘Marking progress against child labour’, the number of child labourers worldwide is estimated to have fallen from around 264 million child labourers in 2000 to around 168 million children, yet this current figure still shockingly accounts for almost 11 per cent of the child population as a whole. More than half of them, around 85 million, are working in hazardous environments, endangering their health and safety or are suffering from slavery and other forms of forced labour; including drug trafficking and prostitution, as well as involvement in armed conflict. 
 
Furthermore, according to the International Labour Organization’s report, in the Middle East and North Africa, there are nearly 9.2 million child workers (8.4 per cent of the global total), suffering from poverty, as well as a poor quality of education.

There are various possible reasons for this child labour phenomenon, which may be attributed to: 
Poverty: This is the first factor which explains why child labour occurs in all parts of the world. Children are forced to leave school early and work instead to try to provide for the family.
Absence of schooling: Children do not go to school for different reasons such as: 
- The inability of the family to bear the costs of study for their child.

- For many survival is the ultimate goal, and work is considered more necessary than education.

Therefore, reducing poverty and emphasising the importance of education is vital to reducing child labour.

Denial of education

The importance of education is well recognized internationally. Recent international experiences have shown that education is the first contributing factor to countries that have made great strides in progress. Many children are however still deprived of their right to education. As a 2013 UNESCO paper indicates, half of the 57 million children worldwide who are not enrolled in school are living in conflict-affected countries. UNESCO expresses the need for the world to take urgent action to bring education to the 28.5 million children worldwide who are being deprived of it in conflict zones. 

Deprivation of play

It is commonly accepted that children who are deprived of playful activities are unable to exercise their full right to childhood. As Peter Gray, psychologist and research professor, maintains  “Play deprivation is bad for children. Among other things, it promotes anxiety, depression, suicide, narcissism, and loss of creativity”. GNRD believes playing is important in contributing to the development of the child and to support both mental and physical health. Thus, GNRD has launched the “I Have a Right to Play” project which aims to give “vulnerable children that are living in poor social and economic conditions the authentic opportunity to enjoy their right to play in a safe and adequate environment and encourage them to develop their talents.” GNRD plans to expand this project to all countries that are in need to enforce children’s rights worldwide.

Abuse and its impact on child

There is no doubt that violations have very negative effects on the child and may cause frustration, self-contempt and a lack of a sense of belonging, as well as increasing reliance on others. Studies and analyses, such as those conducted by the Child Welfare Information Gateway, indicate that there are long-term physical, psychological, behavioral, and societal consequences of child abuse and that abused children are significantly more likely to live in fear and to avoid social interaction. Child abuse over the long term may lead to a lack of physical activity, poor mental and emotional health, problems with speech, language and interpersonal skills, as well as learning difficulties and behavioral problems such as stealing, violence, loss of control and future abuse of others.

Thus, GNRD believes that laws and regulations must be applied and sanctions must be tightened in order reduce offences and crimes in order to help prevent child abuse. In addition, it is important for states to ensure they ensure they actively comply with international standards on child labour laws and ensure they provide good care for all children, as well as raising awareness on the topic in order to support the global effort to eradicate child abuse.

 

Promote children's rights through hearing individual complaints in the United Nations

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has been ratified by194 countries, is the fundamental international human rights instrument aimed at protecting and ensuring the rights of children, according to their best interests. International compliance with this Convention is monitored by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, which is composed of members from countries around the world. Other international instruments that defend and support children include the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography. In the case of government endorsement, the Optional Protocol on the provision of complaints ensures that the UN Commission on Human Rights will issue specific recommendations to be implemented by the state in cases of child abuse.

 

"Wadima " ... the law of United Arab Emirates to protect the child from abuse

In UAE, the concerned institutions, particularly the Ministry of Social Affairs worked to develop an advanced bill to protect children. This aimed to fill the legislative void following the discovery of the crime against Emirati girl Wadima, which confirmed the reality of child abuse, and the urgent need to stop this violence. The case emphasised the need for legal sanctions on offenders including penalties and imprisonment for no less than ten years for abusing children, or exploiting them by filming, recording them or involving them in the production of pornographic material, or exploiting the child sexually or forcing the child into prostitution, whether they are remunerated or not for these acts.

The Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD) confirms that the abuse of children and causing their suffering is a violation of international law and cannot be tolerated. GNRD urgently calls on the international community to take all necessary measures to prevent violations against and abuse of the child.

GNRD seeks to protect and support the rights of the child through a range of activities, such as side events within the UN Human Rights Council on related topics, charity support to children especially to those with physical or mental disabilities (project “Right For Better Care”). Furthermore, the “I Have a Right to Play” project, as described above, also demonstrates GNRD’s commitment to support the physical and mental development of the child, including development of his/her personality, including the psychological, cognitive and emotional aspects of such natural development.

Source : GNRD News