South Africa – CRC Review Jan 2024

submitted by

and

1 INTRODUCTION

The Republic of South Africa submitted its combined third to sixth-period report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. This joint submission constitutes an input to that State Report as part of its examination under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This joint submission is compiled by Edmund Rice International and Christian Brothers College, St John’s (CBC St John’s). Edmund Rice International (ERI), is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) granted ECOSOC status at the UN in 2012 and committed to working for children and young people who are marginalised because of poverty, lack of access to education, legal status, environmental degradation, or involvement in armed conflict. ERI works at the international level to promote and protect the rights of children and young people, particularly regarding education. We work in partnership with other faith-based groups in the promotion of peace and justice. Our work involves engagement with the change-makers at the international level to bring issues and situations to the attention of the international community at the United Nations. CBC St John’s is an independent Catholic School for children aged 2 to Matric, in the Edmund Rice Tradition. As a Christian Brothers College, we are proud of our rich tradition and combine this with a contemporary academic vision of excellence, within a holistic educational environment. Our Senior School students from the advocacy group contributed to the development of this submission and the recommendations contained therein.

We look forward to the Committee’s observations and recommendations to South Africa on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and we hope that this joint submission can benefit the work of the Committee.

1 1 The right to education and access to quality educational facilities

In paragraph 245 of the State Report, responding to LOIPR 25, the State acknowledges the need to strengthen measures taken to improve school infrastructure, including the replacement of “inappropriate structures”, as well as the provision of safe drinking water and sanitation facilities. International human rights law attaches significance to education as a fundamental human right and an invaluable force in the lives of children.[1] Every child is entitled to the right to education.[2] Given the significant role the educational process plays in the development of the child, discriminatory denial of access to educational opportunities can significantly undermine the child’s rights.[3] The right to education is contained in articles 28 and 29 of the CRC. The content of Article 28 governs the State’s obligation to develop educational systems and ensure that every child has access thereto.[4] In addition to the right to education set out in Article 28 of the CRC, article 29 of the CRC sets out the aims of education.[5] The function of articles 29(1)(a) – (e) is to provide content to these aims. These aims are directly linked to the child’s right to dignity[6], considering the evolving capacities and developmental needs of the child, and are guided by the interconnected nature of children’s rights contained in the CRC.[7]

The concept of a right necessitates a corresponding obligation.[8] This legal symmetry often takes the form of governmental obligations, as seen within the scope of the right to education.[9] Within the legal framework of children’s rights, this substantive framework needs to include a reference to how, on a practical level, such rights should be implemented.[10] To provide content to the practicalities included in the protection and enforcement of the right to education, the 4-A scheme conceptualised by former Special Rapporteur on Education Katerina Tomaševski provides structure to the governmental obligations envisioned by the right to education.[11] This scheme outlines four interrelated components of the right to education, which together seek to ensure that governments provide education which is available, accessible, acceptable, and adaptable, known collectively as the 4-A scheme.[12] Together, these components describe the governmental obligation to provide a children’s rights-based education.[13]

The accessibility component of the 4-A scheme describes the governmental obligation to ensure equality of access to education for all children.[14] This component of the 4-A scheme analyses the extent to which States have adopted strategies that eliminate discrimination and exclusion in education.[15] In paragraphs 239 – 243 of the State Report, the State has outlined various measures to support children in their ability to access educational opportunities. These measures target groups of children that would otherwise have been excluded because of a variety of barriers, including poverty and teenage pregnancy. Paragraph 242 of the State Report and its commitment to protecting the educational rights of children with disabilities is most welcome.

Ensuring accessible education is closely linked to the principle of non-discrimination as protected in Article 2 of the CRC. Education which is equally accessible prioritises the right to education for vulnerable and excluded children, particularly girls.[16] Physically accessible education assesses the extent to which schools are within safe-travelling distances, and if not, whether students have access to remote learning opportunities.[17] Lastly, economic accessibility relates to the obligation to ensure provide available education that is either free or affordable.[18] Ensuring accessible education for the girl-child obligates States to focus on the different forms of gender inequalities in education.[19]

Where economically accessible education is subject to progressive realisation, the provision of education is subject to the State’s budgetary constraints.[20] The effect of this is that the costs of schooling are borne by parents or families.[21] Where a financial investment is to be made for their child’s schooling, statistics suggest that families, especially during economic hardships, will prioritise the education of their sons over their daughters.[22] The justification for this is a lack of economic rationale for investing in the education of girls who are unlikely to find employment opportunities after school.[23] The capacity of girls to perform household labour is prioritised over sending girls to school.[24] Ensuring economically accessible education for girls denotes a considerable investment on the part of the States, an investment which needs to be accompanied by financial or economic incentives to enhance the girl-child’s right to education.[25]

The acceptability component of the 4-A scheme describes the governmental obligation to monitor and regulate the form and content of education.[26] Where availability[27] and accessibility[28] focus on whether children have access to functioning and effective educational institutions, acceptability focuses on the quality of education offered in those educational institutions. The acceptability component emphasises the quality and relevance of education to the development of the child and their learning potential.[29] Acceptable education standards are informed by children’s rights standards and the child’s rights to and in education.[30] An acceptable educational process strengthens the child’s ability to realise the full scope of children’s rights, and this necessitates learning materials which are child-friendly, non-discriminatory, and include positive representation of women and girls.[31]

At its most basic, acceptability refers to the content and quality of education.[32] In addition to the educational content itself, how that material is taught can have a significant impact on how it is received by students.[33] The first dimension of acceptable education concerns the learning environment and whether such an environment promotes rather than hinders children’s rights.[34] This dimension of acceptable education is informed by the fact that “children do not lose their human rights by passing through the school gates”.[35] This dimension of acceptable education considers the classroom and school culture, and whether the learning environment created is child-friendly, child-centred and is reflective of a spirit of tolerance, understanding and equality of sexes.[36] Some of the most significant impediments to the realisation of the right to education is unsafe school infrastructure, often brought about as a result of mismanagement of funds. This was raised in LOIPR 25(e), and in the State Report, the State response can be found in paragraph 250. Greater concern should be placed on the impact of corruption across educational processes, not just in ECD programmes.

In 2015, the Minister of Basic Education was adjoined in a case heard by the High Court in which a 5-year-old Michael, born and raised in Limpopo, fell into a pit latrine situated on school grounds and lost his life.[37] In the case of Komape v Minister of Basic Education (“Komape”), the court stated the following:

“The systematic practice or policy, not to take active steps to equip schools in rural areas with safe and adequate toilets, and by allowing the lack of adequate sanitation to persist in those schools is viewed as a breach of human dignity. […] There is, apart from the direct obligation to the children attending schools in the Limpopo Province, also an indirect general overarching duty resting upon the state to protect the environment for the benefit of future generations.”

The poor state of schools, specifically in the Limpopo region was further confirmed in a report by local NGO Equal Education, which found that not only was the Norms and Standards Progress Report misleading, but that the state of sanitation facilities was “hazardous and undignified”.[38] As stated above, the right to education is inclusive of the right to an accessible and acceptable standard of education and given the current situation of learning facilities in the Limpopo region, not only is there concern as to the state of other government schools, but also as to the effect the facilities or lack thereof has on the child’s educational experience. Equal Education included in their report that following their school visits, “learners are pushed away from learning environments by undignified sanitation conditions and a lack of water, among other things.”[39] This directly correlates to the competency and capability of departmental structures which have, disappointingly, been embroiled with allegations of corruption and mismanagement.[40]

The onus rests with the State to ensure that educational processes are child friendly, child-centred, and most importantly, safe for all children. This was confirmed by the court in Kompape in which the court stated:

“The failure of the Department of Education to utilise funds allocated in the budget specifically to upgrade existing toilets to install new and safe toilets at schools since the tragedy and even before it is testament to a complete lack of understanding of the basic human rights of learners are without question reprehensible […] Society has a substantial interest in the safety of their children when absorbed into the school system and placed in the care of schools and teachers who are charged with upholding the rights of children protected by the Constitution. Its failure to do so touches upon their dignity, safety and health and as such their best interests of every learner attending school in rural Limpopo.”[41]

1 1 1 Recommendations:

The State needs to adopt stronger accountability mechanisms within the national and local educational policy frameworks to better manage the allocation of funds and to prevent poor project management and the misuse of funds intended for educational opportunities.
As part of the National Treasury’s equitable share formula, a greater percentage of the overall state budget should be allocated to education on the condition that there are strengthened processes which provide an oversight function to ensure accountability and that the budget is spent effectively and efficiently.
Child deaths, like Michael’s, are preventable. The State should there to proactive and urgent steps to investigate the state of its public schools to effectively determine whether it is complying with its human rights and children’s rights obligations in respect of the right to education to prevent more tragic deaths. The impact of this investigation should then feed into the development and implementation of national and local educational agenda, as well as norms and standards, policies, and monitoring systems.

1 2 The principle of non-discrimination and the right to education for the girl-child

The legacy of the apartheid system which has tainted South Africa’s past, is still felt in the educational system today.[42] This continuously built barriers which inhibited the ability of certain groups, including women and girls, from accessing educational opportunities.[43] Although legal protection is provided by the Constitution and legislation including the South African Schools Act (hereafter “SA Schools Act”)[44] and the National Education Policy[45], problems faced by girl-children in South Africa’s educational system are still overlooked or ignored.[46] In response to LOIPR 25(c), the State Response in paragraphs 241, 243 and 244 highlight the need to prevent learner pregnancy from negatively impacting on the educational rights of girls. Whether because of early marriage, unintended or early pregnancy, or sexual harassment, the rate of effective school attendance at school is still lower for girls as compared to their male counterparts.[47]

The right to education is a fundamental human right and has garnered substantial support in international and regional children’s rights law, as seen in articles 28 and 29 of the CRC, and article 11 of the ACRWC. The fundamental role this right plays in children’s lives informs its necessity and the negative consequences which result from the denial of this right. In Africa, girls experience gender-specific forms of discrimination which limit their ability to fully realise the right to education. Such socio-cultural practices include child marriage, sexual harassment, and family-based practices like FGM, which interfere with the girl’s educational future.[48]

Both the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (hereafter “ACERWC”) and the Committee on the Rights of the Child (hereafter the “Committee”) have confirmed that the principle of non-discrimination is a key principle in the effective implementation of children’s rights as contained in both the ACRWC and the CRC respectively.[49] In the application of this principle of non-discrimination underscored in article 3, the ACERWC emphasises the “particular needs of the girl-child” which “must be addressed in light of all Charter rights to achieve gender equality.”[50] Addressing gender inequalities in the educational system is therefore an integral component of the States obligation to promote the right to education for every child.

One of the main purposes served by human rights indicators is to measure the extent to which groups have been discriminated against.[51] The principle of non-discrimination is an integral component of international human rights law and is not subject to progressive realisation.[52] This entails that States must undertake immediate action to promote non-discrimination and prohibit discriminatory practices.[53] Where a human rights indicator establishes that discrimination has taken place, this will point to a failure on the part of the State, to fulfil its human rights obligations.[54]

There is a significant interplay between poverty and the educational attainment of children, especially girls.[55] Countries, like South Africa, which are affected by poverty can struggle in the fulfilment of their obligation to provide available education.[56] This can translate into too few schools being available.[57] On a community level, where families are particularly affected by poverty, this can result in parents choosing to invest in the educational opportunities of boys over girls.[58] Boys possess a greater potential for providing for their families and obtaining work opportunities than girls, and as such, their education is prioritised.[59] Conversely, girls are often subjected to child marriage to receive a “bride price”.[60] The obligation to provide available education contains the obligation to address those financial obstacles which would preclude girls from attending schools.[61] Protecting the girl-child’s right to education within the availability component of the 4-A scheme manifests as the development of educational strategies to strengthen community support for education and address familial perceptions of educating girls.[62]

The first step in ensuring equally accessible education is the express prohibition followed by the implementation of redress efforts to mitigate the effects of discrimination.[63] The formal prohibition on discrimination against the girl-child in education, the first step, is informed by the principle of non-discrimination. Ensuring equal access to education for girls entails the adoption of gender-transformative strategies which address the unique challenges girls experience.[64] This can include revising the content of curricula and textbooks which further harmful gender stereotypes.[65] Legal reform is also critical in this regard to eliminating obstacles such as “child marriage, early pregnancy, child labour, housework obligations, school fees, and residing long distances from schools”, all of which infringe on the girl-child ability to access education.[66]

The Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women In Africa has highlighted the relationship between sociocultural practices and the girl child’s right to education stating that “in many countries, despite the existence of laws and ratification of the relevant regional and international legal instruments, traditional and cultural norms continue to determine the future of women and girls, both in communities and households.”[67] Obstacles to girls’ education often lie outside the educational sector and can take the form of practices such as child marriage, and or child labour.[68] The following section will consider how State should apply the 4-A scheme in being responsive to the issue experienced by girls and how the adaptability leg of this scheme speaks to adopting strategies to mitigate the effects of these obstacles. [69]

The adaptability component of the 4-A scheme measures the extent to which States have adapted educational systems to accommodate the individual needs and best interests of each child.[70] From a children’s rights perspective, this component emphasises the need for educational systems to be flexible enough to accommodate every child, rather than expecting children to conform to a strict or rigid prescribed educational process.[71] The right to education has strong cultural dimensions.[72] Fulfilling the first dimension of adaptable education manifests as the obligation to ensure education is culturally and socially relevant to the child.[73]

Within the context of the 4-A scheme, “rights-based education necessitates adjustment of the purpose and content of education to equal rights of girls” and a frequently identified barrier to the girl-child’s ability to access education is child marriage.[74] Adapting education within a conceptual children’s rights-based framework necessitates adopting strategies which would mitigate the effect of cultural or traditionalist practices such as child marriage. The effects of child marriage are long-standing, impacting the girls’ right to right to life, survival, and development[75], the right to develop to their fullest potential[76], and can inhibit their prospects to provide for the well-being of their families and communities.[77]

The second dimension of adaptable education refers to the capacity of educational systems to enhance the capacity of children to claim the full range of human rights, and this requires adapting educational systems to address social issues which prevent children from attending school.[78] The intersectionality between poverty and parental choice leaves the girl-child’s right to education vulnerable.[79] Traditional or familial expectations of girls to perform household or domestic child labour often conflict with the girl-child’s right to education.[80] For many girls in Africa, they are required to perform household duties and domestic work such as cooking or cleaning, caring for sick members of their families or fetching water.[81] Moreover, “in conditions of poverty, especially for orphaned children, the immediate income-earning potential of their labour is prioritised over the long-term benefits of education.”[82] Summarily, girls experience a double burden, having to provide income for their family and having to perform domestic or household chores.[83]

1 2 1 Recommendations:

Addressing the issues experienced by children in the realisation of their right to education ultimately requires a pragmatic approach comprised of policy creation, reform, and implementation. Given the multifaceted nature of these obstacles, States would benefit from adopting a child-centred participatory approach to the development of interventions which incorporate the views and opinions of affected children and their wider communities. Including children within their wider community in the educational process will go a long way towards spreading information as the benefits of educational opportunities.
A further recommendation for the improvement of the learning environment is to increase the number of female teachers. Such teachers occupy a significant position in a child’s life and are uniquely placed to act as empowering role models for young girls.
Ensuring the effective attendance of girls at school will require some form of financial incentive on the part of the State. As was previously outlined, in situations of poverty, financially impoverished families will ultimately decline to support the educational journey of girls in favour of boys. Whether in the form of reduced school fees, income grants, scholarships or bursaries, these financial incentives can provide a lifeline to struggling families and act as a powerful incentive for girls to access educational opportunities.[84]

1 3 Impact of climate change on the Rights of the Child

As mentioned in paragraph 215 of the State Report, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996[85] has extended the protection afforded to the environmental interests of children through the inclusion of article 24. Of specific interest is Article 24(b) which ensures ecologically sustainable development and protects the interests of present, and for purposes of this report, future generations. The inclusion of such a provision in South Africa’s Bill of Rights, on a legislative level, provides intergenerational protection for children’s rights. However, a gap exists in the legal framework surrounding the impact of climate change on the rights of the child. In response to LOIPR 23, the State Report in paragraphs 208 – 226, outlines various measures to combat the effects of climate change.

Within the South African context, the projections from climate change activity range from not only an increase in average global temperature but also an increase in natural disasters such as floods and drought.[86] The result is an aggravation of poor socio-economic conditions and increased social vulnerability. [87] It is critical to draw attention to the impact of climate change on the most vulnerable members of society, children, who bear the least responsibility for the development of the climate crisis but who are ultimately the most at risk.[88] The need to urgently adopt a child-centred approach to climate change efforts is further supported by South African population statistics which estimate that as of 2021, 28,3% of our population was aged 15 years or younger.[89] The measures included in paragraph 216 to protect vulnerable communities from the impacts of climate change are welcomed.

In response to South Africa’s combined third to sixth periodic report submitted under article 44 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, attention was drawn to the forthcoming Climate Change Bill, which has not been promulgated. Despite the increasing vulnerability of children because of climate activity, only one mention of children is made in the entirety of this Bill. To strengthen South Africa’s national and international legal framework surrounding children’s rights, it is recommended that further provisions are added to the Climate Change Bill which would strengthen the position of children as well as the contents of article 24 of the South African Constitution.

Enhancing the protection afforded to children under the Climate Change Bill will further aid efforts to reduce the substantial impact of climate-change-related diseases borne predominately by children.[90] This issue garnered support in the State Report in paragraph 214. Increased industrial activity, generated predominately from coal, has greatly contributed to the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions which in turn, not only has drastic consequences for our ecological systems, but has contributed to children being at a higher risk for contracting respiratory infections, including asthma, and water-borne diseases, such as diarrhoea.[91] Summarily, climate change aggravates health hazards and “children will be worst off as they are the most exposed and most vulnerable and the least equipped to cope with health hazards, given their weak socio-economic background.”[92] The negative impact borne by children is in direct conflict with national and international children’s rights standards and should be further investigated by the South African Government as a matter of urgency.

Despite the disproportionate impact of climate change on the rights of children, as seen above, children are often not included as participants in discussions revolving around the development and implementation of solutions-based approaches to the effects of climate change.[93] Overlooking the contributions children can have to such discussions negatively impacts the child’s right to participation.[94] The right to participation in conjunction with the right to freedom of expression[95] is an empowering right, one which secures a platform for victims of climate change to voice their opinions in climate change solutions dialogue.[96] “Children themselves are acutely aware of the impact of climate change on their lives, as well as those of their peers in future generations” and in addition, “children can also help climate-proof local infrastructure, strengthen community early warning systems, increase climate change awareness, and serve as a vital link between the local government and communities.”[97] Yet, despite the innovative solutions proffered by children when included in climate change discussions, children and young people are forgotten in such global discussions.[98]

In adopting a children’s rights approach to discussions concerning climate change, such an approach would include the participation of children in relevant decision-making processes, especially those related to mitigation policies and the development of durable solutions.[99]

1 3 1 Recommendations

The State should review the policies and intervention strategies it has adopted and examine to what extent this framework complies with South Africa’s children’s rights obligations to include vulnerable groups, such as children, women and specifically girls.
It is further recommended that the state adopt mechanisms and infrastructure which aim to reduce the impact of climate change and climate change-related natural disasters on children.
The State should examine the extent to which its legislation, whether related to health, the environment, or agriculture, actively protects the rights of children to health and well-being and minimizes their exposure to toxic materials.
Within its intervention framework, the State should adopt a more child-rights-based approach allowing children to participate in the development and implementation of climate change prevention strategies. As such, these intervention strategies should form part of the National Curriculum to better align the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) curriculum with our current and critical environmental needs.

The State should, without further delay, urgently adopt and promulgate the Climate Change Bill as well as adjoining policies and strategies which proactively realise the Bill’s aims and objectives.

[1] K Tomaševski Right to Education Primers No 3 9.

[2] Article 28(1) of the UNCRC.

[3] UNCRC General Comment 1 para 10.

[4] UNCRC General Comment 1 para 4.

[5] Strohwald The child’s right to, in and through basic education 2.

[6] Article 28(2) of the CRC.

[7] UNCRC General Comment 1 paras 1, 6 & 8.

[8] Tomaševski Right to Education Primers No 3 8.

[9] 7.

[10] Strohwald The child’s right to, in and through basic education 52 & 55.

[11] Tomaševski Right to Education Primers No 3 13.

[12] 13.

[13] K Tomaševski Manual on Rights-Based Education: Global Human Rights Requirements Made Simple (2004) i.

[14] Tomaševski Manual on Rights-Based Education 26.

[15] 26.

[16] CESCR General Comment 13 para 6(b).

[17] Para 6(b).

[18] Para 6(b).

[19] Strohwald The child’s right to, in and through basic education 91.

[20] Tomaševski Manual on Rights-Based Education 17.

[21] Global Campaign for Education Gender Discrimination in Education 7.

[22] 7.

[23] UNCHR Preliminary report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education 21.

[24] 21.

[25] 21.

[26] CESCR General Comment 13 para 6(c).

[27] See section 3 3 above.

[28] See section 3 4 above.

[29] Tomaševski Manual on Rights-Based Education 28.

[30] 7.

[31] Cowley & Save the Children Let Girls Learn! 17; Global Campaign for Education Gender Discrimination in Education 7.

[32] CESCR General Comment 13 para 6(c).

[33] UNESCO & UNICEF A Human Rights-Based Approach to Education to Education for All 33.

[34] Tomaševski Manual on Rights-Based Education 28.

[35] UNCRC General Comment 1 para 8.

[36] Paras 2 & 19.

[37] Komape v Minister of Basic Education (2018) ZALMPPHC 18 para 2.

[38] Equal Education An Equal Education report on the provision of water and sanitation at 18 schools in Ga-Mashashane, Limpopo (2017) 1 12.

[39] 45.

[40] 46 and Chisholm, L The textbook saga and corruption in education” South African Review of Education 19 (1) 7

[41] Komape v Minister of Basic Education (2018) ZALMPPHC 18 Para 65.

[42] D Danielle (2012) The right to education for the girl-child and problems facing adolescent girls in the pursuit of their right to education: A focus on South Africa 19.

[43] 19.

[44] South African Schools Act No. 84 of 1996.

[45] National Educational Policy Act No. 27 of 1996

[46] D Danielle (2012) The right to education for the girl-child and problems facing adolescent girls in the pursuit of their right to education: A focus on South Africa 24,25 and 32.

[47] 34.

[48] Djouguela The right to education for the girl-child and problems facing adolescent girls in the pursuit of their right to education 4.

[49] African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child General Comment 5: State Party Obligations under the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (Article 1) and Systems Strengthening for Child Protection (2018) (“ACERWC General Comment 5”) para 4.1; United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child General Comment 5: General measures of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (2003) CRC/GC/2003/5 (“UNCRC General Comment 5”) para 12.

[50] ACERWC General Comment 5 para 4.1

[51] G De Beco & Right to Education Initiative Right to Education Indicators based on the 4 A framework – Concept Paper (2009) 114.

[52] 14.

[53] 14.

[54] 14.

[55] 12.

[56] 13.

[57] UNCHR Preliminary report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education 19.

[58] I Tshabangu “The intersectionality of educational inequalities and child poverty in Africa: A deconstruction” (2018) 17 Educ. Res. Policy. Prac. 69 78.

[59] 78.

[60] Tshabangu (2018) 17 Educ. Res. Policy. Prac 78; Cowley & Save the Children Let Girls Learn! (2021) 1 7.

[61] Tomaševski Manual on Rights-Based Education 16.

[62] Cowley & Save the Children Let Girls Learn! 19.

[63] Tomaševski Manual on Rights-Based Education 25.

[64] Cowley & Save the Children Let Girls Learn! 17.

[65] Tomaševski Manual on Rights-Based Education 27.

[66] United Nations General Assembly Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education (2009) UN Doc A/72/496 (“UNGA Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education”) 7.

[67] L Asuagbor “Statement by the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa on the Occasion of Pan-African Women’s Day – 31 July 2014” (31/07/2014) African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights <https://www.achpr.org/pressrelease/detail?id=205> (accessed 19-02-2022).

[68] ODI et al. Human Rights and Poverty Reduction 3-4.

[69] Global Campaign for Education Gender Discrimination in Education 8.

[70] Tomaševski Manual on Rights-Based Education i.

[71] vi.

[72] UNGA Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education 3.

[73] UNCRC General Comment 1 para 9.

[74] ODI et al. Human Rights and Poverty Reduction 3 & 7.

[75] Article 6 of the CRC & Article 5 of the ACRWC.

[76] As underscored in article 11(2)(a) of the ACRWC

[77] Djouguela The right to education for the girl-child and problems facing adolescent girls in the pursuit of their right to education 36.

[78] Strohwald The child’s right to, in and through basic education62.

[79] ODI et al. Human Rights and Poverty Reduction 7.

[80] Tomaševski Right to Education Primers No 3 27.

[81] J Grout-Smith, C Postles, H O’Reilly, S Tanner & Save the Children Plan Because I am a Girl, Africa Report 2012: Progress and Obstacles to Girls’ Education in Africa (2012) 1 32.

[82] 32.

[83] 32.

[84] Djouguela The right to education for the girl-child and problems facing adolescent girls in the pursuit of their right to education 53.

[85] Hereafter referred to as the South African Constitution.

[86] M Lethoko “Children and youth as agents of climate change impact in South Africa” (2014) 12 Commonwealth Youth and Development 75 75.

[87] Lethoko (2014) 12 Commonwealth Youth and Development 75 75.

[88] Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children The climate crisis and violence against children (2022) 4-5.

[89] South African Government “South Africa’s people” (21-06-2023) https://www.gov.za/about-sa/south-africas-people.

[90] A Thompson, L Matamale and S Kharidza “Impact of Climate Change on Children’s Health in Limpopo Province, South Africa” (2012) 9 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 831 832.

[91] Thompson, Matamale & Kharidza (2012) 9 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 831 832, 850 and Lethoko (2014) 12 Commonwealth Youth and Development 75 78.

[92] Thompson, Matamale & Kharidza (2012) 9 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 831 851.

[93] Boshoff (2017) Afr. Hum. Rights Yearb. 30.

[94] See footnote 36.

[95] The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (adopted 20 November 1989, entered into force 2 September 1990) 1577 UNTS 3 protects the right to freedom of expression in article 13 which includes the right to “seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds.” The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (adopted 27 June 1981 entered into force 21 October 1986) 1520 UNTS 217 includes the freedom of expression in article 7 which states that “every child who is capable of communication his or her own views shall be assures the rights to express his [or her] opinions in all matters.”

[96] Sanz-Caballero (2013) Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics 8.

[97] Gibbons (2014) Health Hum. Rights 24 and Boshoff (2017) Afr. Hum. Rights Yearb. 24.

[98] Rights 19.

[99] Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons: “Rights of internally displaced persons” (2019) A/74/261 9.