Compiled by Proud Z Nyakuni

Following the adoption of the My Planet, My Rights Petition led by Terre Des Hommes globally, the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) nationally,and Marange Youths at District Level in Manicaland, there was increased recognition of environmental child rights locally and globally by duty bearers.  A global call for Governments to prioritise the protection of Environmental Child Rights with a Focus on Climate Change followed and in August 2023, the United Nations Committee on Rights of Children passed General Comment No.26 (GC26) on Child Rights and Environmental Rights with a special focus on climate change. It is against this background that ZELA started training community members in Mutare Rural and Chimanimani Districts with the aim of educating and raising awareness on the provisions of General Comment No.26 as well as establishing channels to further disseminate information on the Comment in the community and channels to report violations of rights provided for under the General Comment.

The training workshops were attended by youth network members, traditional leaders, Councilors, environmental club patrons and members of community-based organisations from Marange, Arda Transau and Chimanimani. A total of 73 people were trained. Of particular importance was the right of children to be heard as this aligns with the ongoing push by community-based organisations in Marange working in a multi-actor partnership with local stakeholders and ZELA to push for children’s inclusion in mining companies’ Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) processes.

Hence, the right to be heard in General Comment No.26 is an advocacy tool as governments, government agencies, corporate entities and other actors are compelled under this article to create safe spaces for children to express their views so that they are heard and considered. The clarion call is to ensure the participation of children in decision making processes that affect their well-being and their rights through methods such as art, poetry, drawing and even through their teachers.

Traditional leaders in Marange pledged their support to ensure inclusion in platforms such as Village Development Committees, as well as Village and Ward Assemblies. Child Protection Committees in communities were also identified as vital platforms to raise awareness and report violations related to environmental child rights and provisions under General Comment No.26.

Given the above, General Comment No.26 on child rights and environmental rights with a special focus on climate change is, therefore, a game changer as it provides a child rights-based approach where the process of realising children’s rights is as important as the result. This approach ensures that particular attention is paid to the multiple barriers faced by children in disadvantaged situations in enjoying and claiming their rights which other conventions and pieces of legislation may have generalized. Thus, at local level, traditional leaders, councilors, patrons and other stakeholders in areas such as Marange are now working to dismantle these barriers and create platforms for remedy when there are violations of Environmental Child Rights.