children’s rights. Children should be given opportunity to participate in decision making that will affect them positively. Decision made by the governments during this pandemic have affected the rights of a child in different ways. Their social, economic and cultural rights have been affected on the one hand and their civil and political rights has well been affected on the other in the absence of their participation in decision making during this pandemic. Although commentators on human rights have not dwell on this aspect of children’s rights, however, it is high time we delt on this issue in order to change the narratives, as laws are not static in nature, society ought to move along with new laws as they evolve. The right of the child to participate in decision making affecting his/her life should also be paramount. The pandemic has been able to proof to the world that the right of everyone matters in decision making.
The outbreak of the pandemic, especially at the instance of the introduction of COVID – 19 regulations and the adoption of emergency measures globally, a lot of children suffered increased domestic violence – as victims and or witnesses of domestic violence. Children may or were exposed to heightened risk of online abuse and exploitation. Furthermore, they were deprived of social interaction with their peers, introduction of online classes, which was foreign to them, restricted them from accessing certain services and support. To this end this article will be looking at equality of men and women including children, considering the pandemic ravaging the globe today.
EQUALITY AS A GENERAL TERM
The term equality has conventionally referred to mean the right of men and women. The fight for equal right for decades needs to be extended to children who equally has rights. The provisions of article 12 should be given a deep review by legislatures, judiciary and the public in general. Article 12 provision, which established that every child to freely express his or her views in all matters affecting him or her, and the subsequent right for those view to be given due weight, according to the child’s age and maturity justifies this assertion. It is high time the narratives changed. Equality does not only bother on the rights of men and women but also extends to children. The core principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child are non-discrimination, best interest of the child, the right to survival and development and the view of the child- which has established the equality clause that has not been taking into consideration by the institutions responsible in enforcing child’s rights.
OBJECTIVES