Convention on the Rights of the Child

2.1.3 Convention on the Rights of the Child / UNCRC/ 1989

According UNICEF the CRC is the most rapidly and widely ratified international human rights instrument in the world, 192 states recognise the Convention principle that the child is a holder of rights and freedoms including States’ obligation to protect children from any act of violence.

Ethiopia has ratified the CRC in 1992 and it has made a major contribution in the domestic recognition of the human rights of all children and it had a significant contribution to incorporate prohibition of child trafficking in the 1995 of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Constitution as provides Article 18. The underlying implication of the ratification of this Convention can be explained in terms of domesticating the Convention as an integral part of the law of the land, according to Article 9 Sub-article 4 and Article 13 of the Constitution It is clearly embedded with the Convention that State parties, which have ratified the Convention, are assumed to have made a commitment to treat these as their respective social policy obligations for children. Therefore, the ratification of these instruments is primarily the expression of the commitment of the Ethiopian government towards recognizing the protection of children in particular and to the rights of children of its citizens in general.

The CRC recognises the rights and interests of children in a comprehensive manner. Particularly in relation to trafficking some of these recognitions are: the right to life Article 6 sub article 1, the right to survival and development of the child Article 6 sub-article 2, the right not to be separated from their family Article 9, the right not to be transferred to another country ...

... middle of paper ...

...nlike the ICCPR, the ICESCR has preventive measures against economic exploitation of children an also to alleviate the causes of trafficking but the state's obligation is not adequate to address the victim assistance program as it is quite related with economic, social and cultural rights of the children.

Therefore, the obligation of State parties to the Covenants has limited protection of trafficking the provisions are not adequate to prevent and protect child trafficking especially to protect victim of trafficking. The Covenants has less protection to victim of trafficking than the two Optional Protocols especially to assist and rehabilitate victims of trafficking. So that even Ethiopia is a party of the Covenant there are some gaps on States parties’ obligations in the prevention and protection of trafficking which may not supplemented by these Covenants.