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It has always been a challenge to ensure that this information is understood by all individuals, as skill levels vary greatly. With your [Children’s Act] manuals being incredibly succinct and user-friendly, it is able to reach all individuals, whether … in an office sporting a post-grad degree, or at grassroots level with just a basic understanding of English.
Tammy Dutton, NOAH, June 2012
Project 28 was a rights-based project that focuses on promoting the realisation of children’s socio-economic rights in South Africa. The project aimed to seek clarity on the meaning of children’s socio-economic rights, particularly regarding the nature and extent of the government’s obligations to children.
The meaning of children's socio-economic rights, which appear in Section 28 of the Bill of Rights, has become a hot topic for debate and discussion in South Africa. Child rights advocactes interpret their inclusion in the Constitution − separate to everyone else's socio-economic rights − to mean that all children are entitled to a basic package of benefits and services, and that these should be prioritised by the government. Such a package includes basic health care services, basic nutrition, shelter and social services. Section 29 in the Constitution also guarantees every child the right to basic education.
Project 28 adopted three methods to further this debate and ultimately to promote an approach that prioritises children:
1. Research and writing
The project since 2004 has been collating reviews of all existing literature on children's socio-economic rights from national and international law. This has enabled the production of quality rights analysis papers and products to promote an understanding of the rights in Section 28, and the related obligations on society, and specifically on government. An example of such products is the eight conference papers presented by the Institute at the 2005 Fourth World Congress on Family Law and Children's Rights. Project 28staff were instrumental in supporting staff from various projects to write these. The papers (linked below) provided analyses of service delivery to children from a rights perspective.
Current project team: Paula Proudlock, Katharine Hall, Lucy Jamieson, Lori Lake, Lizette Berry.
Rights in brief: Children's right to survival and maximum development
Dutschke M & Abrahams K 2006
Child rights at the core: A commentary on the use of international law in South African court cases on children's socio-economic rights
Rosa S & Dutschke M 2006
A Project 28 working paper, May 2006
Oversight and legislative tools for Parliament to facilitate and monitor the realisation of children's rights
Proudlock P 2005
Developed for AWEPA and UNICEF training of Members of Parliament of various Southern African Development Community countries, June 2005.
Children's rights to social services
Dutschke M 2005
In: Child Rights in Focus, issue number 3, June 2005
Children's socio-economic rights in focus at international congress
Proudlock P 2005
In: Child Rights in Focus, issue number 3, June 2005
Using international law to realise children's socio-economic rights in South Africa
Rosa S 2005
In: Child Rights in Focus, issue no. 3, June 2005
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Children's Institute, University of Cape Town, 46 Sawkins Road, Rondebosch, 7700, South Africa | DIRECTIONS E-MAIL | Tel: +27 (21) 650 1473 | Fax: +27 (21) 650 1460 |