A legal consultant has called on South Sudan law enforcement agencies to look into the preservation and respect of rights of children at all levels across the nation.
The purpose of the 2008 Child Act is to extend, promote and protect the rights of children, including protection from labor, degrading treatment, abuse, marriage, among others.
However, there have been reports of child marriage, recruitment of children into the army and child labor.
Reech Malual – a legal consultant and an advocate at Badri and Associates – describes these as violations of the act:
“It is still in an early stage to say the act is being executed totally or to maybe a certain percentage that can be really appreciated.”
He urged the concerned government institutions to implement the Act.