Unicorn_in_Captivity

Liberia is Africa's oldest republic, but the country became better known in the 1990’s for its violent civil war. The civil war began in 1989 and lasted for fourteen years, until 2003. An elected government was established in 2006 and Liberia began its road towards the realization of international human rights standards (“Human Rights Protection”). As a result of the war, over 250,000 people died and hundreds of thousands became refugees or displaced (“US Aid from American People”). The country was left in chaos with its government, infrastructure and economy completely destroyed. Liberia actually emerged as one of the poorest countries in the world. Currently, eighty four percent of the population is living below the international poverty line. In addition to the poverty, significant health conditions exist with forty percent of the population suffering from malnutrition and only twenty five percent having access to safe drinking water (Rivollet, Marie). As a result of the civil war and its devastating consequences on its infrastructure, economy and government, Liberia has continued to face several human rights issues. It is the government’s responsibility of all countries to provide the basic social and development infrastructures including basic public services such as healthcare, education and justice (Williams, Abraham). While the country has made some gains, inadequacies and deficiencies exist in the area of human rights especially with regard to children, due to ongoing issues with the education system, labor practices and the judiciary sector. While Liberia has had nine years of peace, educational policies have not yet improved the educational system or reduced the poverty level of the average Liberian in a meaningful way. The current president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has developed a series of goals aimed at making improvements across many segments including education. One such goal is a universal primary education mandate by the year 2015 (Willams, Abraham). This goal is in serious jeopardy of being achieved. In many regions of Liberia, children still do not attend school and few children pursue studies after primary school (Rivollet, Marie). Current challenges include the need for construction and restoration of schools, overcrowding, inadequate resources and lack of supplies and educational materials. Schools do not even have enough space for all the students and teachers to sit while learning. Additionally even though schools are supposedly “free”, families must incur the cost of uniforms, transportation and lunch. Many families are struggling already and are not in a position to afford these expenses (Williams, Abraham). Consequently, they do not send their children to school and in many cases, send them to work to help support the family. Another human right violation is the physical treatment of children at school. There is no formal law that forbids bodily harm towards children at school. Many traditional and cultural practices still exist in schools that are not in the best interest of the students. One such practice is female genital mutilation. This practice is recognized as a violation as a human right violation against girls and women and is carried on with no law to prohibit this from happening (Rivollet, Marie) Not only is providing a basic education a human right, education can also help transform the economy of Liberia. One estimate indicates that for every additional year of education it will add at least ten percent to a person's earnings. Additionally every dollar invested in education leads to a 15-fold increase in the Liberian Economy (“Liberia”). Clearly improving the educational system in Liberia will not only address a human right violation but can also help improve the economy. With the rampant poverty and limited education, children are often forced on the streets to work to support their families. While the law prohibits the employment of children under the age of 16 during school hours, child labor is widespread in almost every economic sector (“2009 Human Rights Report”). In many cases, children are the breadwinners for their families, and there is no incentive for parents to send their children to school (Williams, Abraham). A significant number of children leave home in the morning to work and then return home in the evening. Even more disturbing is many of these children live in the streets. The jobs children do consist of menial, dangerous and low paying jobs such as fetching water, washing dishes or tasks related to mining and agriculture. Some children sadly are used as children servants and prostitutes exposing them to long hours, isolation and sexual abuse (“Liberia”). Additionally, for those children who live in the streets, lack of education, healthcare, and nutrition further exposes them to poverty and exploitation (Rivollet, Marie). Unfortunately, government programs do no exist to prevent child labor or to remove children from labor. A fundamental weakness is there does not exist a comprehensive policy to combat exploitative child labor. In agriculture, for example, children work long hours, use dangerous tools and run a high risk of injury. While Liberia does have laws to protect children, such as the minimum working age and the requirement for child workers to attend school, the law does not establish adequate prohibitions against involvement in hazardous activities or provide a comprehensive system to monitor child labor. Efforts made by the government have been hindered so far as there is no reliable data, no child labor surveys and a limited capacity to collect any data for strategic planning and policies. Additionally, while various commissions established around child labor have been established, these efforts are not coordinated and no national child strategy has resulted (“Liberia”). Contributing to the issue of child labor is the failure of the government to fully implement the rehabilitation and reintegration segments of a program designed to treat, educate and reintegrate ex combatant child soldiers. It is estimated that between five and fifteen thousand child soldiers were used in the war (Dousuah, Alfred). These children were subject to and witnessed murders, executions, dismemberment and burning of victims, many of them witnessing this to members of their own family. Many children were kidnapped and threatened with death if they did not join in (“Liberia: Child Soldiers”). These child soldiers were left uneducated, with no job skills and therefore prone to crime and violence. After the war, a formal program was established to rehabilitate and reintegrate these child soldiers back into society, Disarmament, Demobilization, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DDRR). Unfortunately, many of these child soldiers have not received any real assistance and still experience posttraumatic stress as well as suffer from addiction, depression and other mental disorders. Consequently, many of these individuals live on the streets and engage in widespread crimes, gang violence, armed robbery and other crimes (Dousuah, Alfred). These neglected groups of citizens lack the most basic human needs of education, family relationships, healthcare and nutrition and have limited opportunities. For children not attending school and working on the streets, crime becomes an inevitable means of survival. Liberia’s judicial system has remained slow and ineffective since the civil war and violations exist within both the adult and juvenile systems (“Woman and Children Suffer in Liberia”). The Liberian police system unfortunately is defined by abuse, arbitrary arrests, torture, and bribes (Rivollet, Marie). Children arrested have basically no means of defense and are subjected to forms of arbitrary justice. Some children are incarcerated for a whole year before even going before a judge. The conditions for detained children are horrendous and in violation of their human rights. They are held in overpopulated penal establishments and live with a lack of food and water, plumbing services and medical services (“Woman and Children suffer in Liberia”). Juvenile detention centers or homes do not exist, and children are often placed in prison with adult criminals. This leads to the detained children being subject to abuse by the guards and other prisoners further adding to the violation of their rights. Rehabilitation services are not even available to these children when they are released and they often wind up back on the streets fighting for survival (Rivollet, Marie). Adding to the problem of overall education deficiencies as noted above, children in jail receive no education and often have no contact with families. The causes of these human right violations are numerous but mainly begin with a poor infrastructure, the limited capacity level of personnel and corrupt practices leading to significant delays and overcrowding in prisons (“Woman and Children Suffer in Liberia”). In addition to these conditions violating the human rights of these children, the slow functioning judicial system contributes to the eroding of and undermining confidence in the rule of law (“Human Rights Protection”). While significant improvements have been made since the end of the civil war, Liberia’s transition to a democratic country governed by law and human rights cannot be complete without reform in all of these areas (Dousuah, Alfred). Until reforms are made and violations of these human rights are eliminated, the country will remain in a vicious cycle of poverty and crime. A limited future will exist for the children of this country with few opportunities. Without proper education and training, the children will never advance beyond their parents’ lifestyle and end the cycle that currently exists. Children will remain on the streets and subject to a life of crime, drugs and disease. The country of Liberia must be willing to invest in schools and the educational system and provide children with their fundamental basic human right of education. Reform in this area will be a grass roots step towards providing this generation with the necessary skills and training towards a better standard of living. If children are in school and obtaining a proper education, they will not be on the streets working dangerous and menial jobs or committing crimes. With fewer children in jail, this will also help to alleviate the current deficiencies in the judicial system and set a charter for better conditions for those detained. Children will be learning skills that can hopefully establish a more prosperous future for them and generations to come. These children represent the future of Liberia and granting them their human rights will lead to a brighter future for the entire country.