CHAPTER
INTRODUCTION
1:
1.1 PROJECT BACKGROUND
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To provide basic information on the constitution and the
The Global Political Agreement (GPA) provided for a constitution
making process which is people driven. The GPA specifically
provides that “it is the fundamental right and duty of the
Zimbabwean people to make a constitution by themselves and
for themselves.” Following the GPA, an inclusive government was
formed in February 2009. The government then initiated the
constitution making process through the Constitution Select
Committee (Copac). Copac was tasked to consult the people of
Zimbabwe on their views to be considered in the new
constitution. Unfortunately child participation was lacking in the
process Copac set out to pursue as evidenced by the absence of
children at the First All Stakeholders Conference held in 2009.
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To facilitate the identification of one child to represent his or
constitution-making process,
Child participation is one of the key principles underpinning
children's human rights. The principle requires the participation
of children in all matters affecting them and that their views be
given due weight in accordance with their age and maturity.
There should be information sharing and dialogue between
children and adults on the development of policies, programmes
and measures related to children's lives in order to fulfill this
principle. There is a danger of misrepresenting children's
concerns, opinions and views if only adults are left to speak on
behalf of children. Children are best able to give first hand
information on what they need. Involving children in processes
that affect or will affect them in future is the best way of ensuring
compliance with and ownership of the end product by children. It
will also ensure that the future generations are not only
responsible but also accountable for fulfilling children's rights.
Given this background, the MOCPA, JCT, ACPD, Childline and
UNICEF partnered in “the Child Participation in the Constitution
Making Process Project” that was aimed at ensuring meaningful
participation by children in the constitution making process. The
objectives of the Project were;
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To give the children a chance to participate in the constitution
making process through gathering their views in a childfriendly environment,
her
district at the National Summit to be held after the
district consultations, and
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To increase the visibility of children's issues in communities
prior to the entry of the Copac consultation teams.
1.2 PROJECT COVERAGE
Twenty two district summits were held across Zimbabwe starting
from the 7th of June and ending on the 7th of October 2010. Two
districts were sampled per each of the ten provinces. Although the
consultations had initially been planned to last for three months
only, the Kariba summit was postponed from the scheduled date,
15th of July 2010, due to administrative reasons. The summit was
then held on the 7th of October following continued negotiations
with government officials. The delay in holding the Kariba summit
became a blessing in disguise since the project implementing
team managed to secure the attendance of a Copac outreach
team at the summit. 3791 children participated at the summits. Of
this number 2074 were girls while 1671 were boys. The majority of
these children were from schools.
The pinnacle of the Project was the National Summit which held
on the 22nd and 23rd September 2010. The summit which was
attended by Copac was named “Copac National Consultative
Outreach for Children.” It was attended by 90 Junior Senators, the
22 child representatives who had been elected during the districts
summits and 68 children who were brought by other nongovernmental organisations that attended the national summit.
The last group of children included children with disabilities and
children living in the streets.
1.3 PROJECT METHODOLOGY
The districts summits used the “What About Us?” tool kit that was
developed by ACPD.
Article VI of the Global Political Agreement Harare 15 September 2008.
Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 44/25
of 20 November 1989, Entry into force 2 September 1990, and Articles 4 and 7 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child11 July 1990, OAU Doc.
CAB/LEG/24.9/49 (1990).
UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, “The General Measures of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: The Process in Europe and Central Asia”, Florence: Innocenti
Publications, 2006 p 2
The full details of the districts will appear in the section on consolidated district reports. It suffices to mention here that there were two Summits that were held in Lupane
and Nkayi due to the long distances between schools instead of one per district as had been planned at the onset of the project.
The list of schools is attached at the end of this report as an appendix.
A booklet has been produced on this toolkit. See What About Us? Children's Participation in the Constitution-Making Process Comp Printers Harare June 2010.
CHILD PARTICIPATION IN THE CONSTITUTION MAKING PROCESS
Children's consultations CONSOLIDATED REPORT
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