Child Rights Report 2002

Introduction
The Center for Children’s Rights (CCR) is a small activities organization, which is child rights research and action center. It works to enhance adherence to the rights of the child, as expressed in the United Nations Convention on the rights of the child (UNCRC).

CCR Activities

Conducting investigations and undertaking researches
Drawing up policies and strategies and undertaking actions
Advocating on behalf of children
Assisting children in difficult circumstances

Situation of child Rights
Like in other developing countries, a migration rural children into the city like Hargeisa is an increasing observable fact in our society, it is mainly because of unbalanced development between cities and villages or rural life, growing unemployment and increasing poverty, many children seek migration in urban areas for a better opportunity.

Children At Risk

Illegitimate Born Children
Because of unprotected or unsafe sex, the illegal born children are increasing and they are subjected to negligent and killing as we observed many cases happened in different main towns in Somaliland.

Street Living & Working Children
Children live and work in city streets throughout Somaliland, often begging or stealing to survive. Many children choose street life as the alternative to poverty or violence at home, some children work on street to earn money for them selves or their families, they return home at night. Others have little or no contact with their families and cope without adult support.

Children Conflict With law (Juvenile Delinquents)
Police officers, custodial corps and courts have recorded a big number of juvenile crimes, because children who missed their rights to education have no alternative to do unless to start chewing Qat and to organize themselves as a group of gangs.

In the most cases parents used to detain their children under 18 years for discipline proposes alongside hardcore criminals. These children meet unexpected situation because the country has no juvenile justice systems.

Theses children are humiliated, degraded, threatened and physically hurt in the adult prisons, many of these children may meet sexual abuse.
These children learn from the hardcore criminals in the prisons.

IDP & Economic Migrants Children
It is widely accepted that the number of the children arriving in Somaliland most of whom are those effected by civil wars in Somalia were forced to flee from their homes continue to increase, and those from Ethiopia’s Zone 5 regions as who are virtually economic immigrants.

These IDPS and economic migrants children are among the most vulnerable children in Somaliland, they suffer from child rights abuses and their rights and special protection needs as children are frequently neglected or violated.

Ahmed Roble
Director
Center for Children Rights

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