Children’s Right to Participation in Kenya

Abstract

The right to participate by children is a global issue that has received attention and this is witnessed regionally and specifically in Kenya. This was the inspiration to carry out the current study examining the various laws and clauses that have been implemented globally, regionally and locally in an effort to boost children participation. Interest theory of rights which is a leading theory in children participation was the anchor for this study as it touches on both human rights and how they inculcate children participation in society. To achieve the aim of the study, specific objectives were set including; establishment of the inclusivity practices that infringes on children rights to fully participate in all development matters that involve children in accordance to Article 12 of CRC; exploring the challenges in implementing the children’s right as enshrined under Article 43(1) (a) of the Constitution of Kenya; and determination of the relationship between effective implementation of participation rights in Children Act 2012 and Article (53) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 on one hand and the cultural practices on the other. The study used a qualitative approach in which desktop review and mining of articles as well as previous studies dealing with children participation were the main focus. From the results of the qualitative analysis, the study found that principles of children inclusion in sustainable development activities have a strong foundation that would guarantee children participation, except that cultural practices in most parts of Kenya, the African region and globally as a whole makes it very difficult for child participation. In conclusion, the study observed that Kenya is very quick to ratify most of the international laws, but there was a complication in which rights and activists’ groups have tended to focus on participation of girl child leaving out the boy child hence weakening the efforts to improve children participation in sustainable development activities. The Constitution of Kenya 2010 focused on the family unit putting children strictly under the family; this is a wrong assumption that has led to children misrepresentation at many forums where their full participation is required. The study recommends review of current legal frameworks to inculcate children in decision making while clearly setting aside provisions for all children including those without family units in order to be all inclusive. Further studies are also recommended on key articles in the constitution that require review for inclusivity of children participation in Kenya.