Alexander Chola Fundafunda
Founder
Child Rescue Mission

Hi,
I am Alexander, a Zambian citizen concerned about the plight of Africa's children. As a Zambian citizen I am particularly concerned about the children of my country. 

The concept of human rights is an evolving one, it is also a controversial issue when set within different social and cultural contexts. Faith considerations, other philosophical teachings and personal beliefs often find themselves challenged by the idea of humans having inherent rights to particular goods and services. Governance structures and family units are all finding themselves greatly challenged by this idea of human rights. Social scientists continue to battle each other as to interpretation and implementation of the various tenets of International Human Rights Conventions. As custodian of the codified Human Rights tenets the United Nations Organisation itself is finding that an ailing global community is demanding stronger and faster responses to human rights challenges all over the world. Governments are finding themselves held accountable for their actions by people outside their jurisdiction. Increasingly, despotic national leaders and revolutionaries are finding themselves the target of investigations for human rights abuses. It is a movement that will not stop and to which we all find ourselves responding either positively ore otherwise.. 

I believe that human beings are born with inherent rights. Since we are all equal in substance and form, we desire to enjoy the same rights to space, time and material resources. Right of ownership of service and product is relative to both legitimacy of the claim and the legality of acquisition. Legitimacy of claim and legality of acquisition are fundamental aspects of the concept of respect for human rights. If one party lays claim to the material or spiritual possessions of another they have to prove the legitimacy of this claim with irrefutable proof  and show legality of the process of acquisition. It can not be enough to  simply claim superiority of form and substance and with this attempt to legitimize claim to another's native possessions. Racism and tribalism are based on this infantile analysis of fact-it says," I own because I judge myself to be superior in form and substance, you do not own because I judge you to be lesser in form and substance"  Upon this negative pride are based all the world's woes from primitive and commercial slavery through colonialism and up to economic enslavement and child abuse.

 Many measures of superiority of form and substance have been established over the years. Complexion and skin colour have been used as measures of superiority, thereby justifying  the subjugation of those  deemed to be lesser in form and in substance. So also  have natural attributes such as sex, height, acquired academic knowledge and culture been used to demeen and dispossess others. Hence, some families became royalty while others were reduced to slavery based on claims of "noble birth". Greater muscular prowess and physical symmetry became measures of superiority over others deemed less endowed. Intelligence at controlled tasks also became another measure of superiority of form and substance. The more the attributes,  the more the claim to superiority. Age was  also thrown into this vat of claims to superiority, the older the person was , the more superioor they were. In every given second of time only one human being can claim to be the youngest, hence all human beings at one point or another become older than someone else. What a relief, this is the one attribute of superiority that everybody can claim to possess relative to another-they are all older than at least one other human being. So to age was attributed superiority and power. Children are a class of humans measured to be collectively younger, inexperienced and needing guidance. A true fact oft abused to the advantage of the  " superior " older person. 

In this circus of claims to superior form and substance, it is easily missed that all end up being both inferior and superior at the same time. For the muscular boxer may be dismally poor in mathematical calculation and men do   not give birth to children in the normal order of things. White people easily get sunburnt and black people have a higher incidence of heart disease. Child-soldiers are known to be fearless while being too naive to be wary of danger. No one is superior, no one is inferior-the very measure does not, will not and should not exist. All are equal because none is superior, none inferior.

Children are therefore equal to the most powerful adult and they are so in their individuality as also in their collectivity. Children's rights are therefore based on the truth of their equality to all humans. Children are not equal because one day they will be human, they are equal because they are simply human;  as are all people simply human. Children need not grow up or get an education to justify having some rights, they have rights because thay have rights. Children's Rights are human rights because children are human beings, born equal to each other and born equal to all human beings that ever lived and that will ever live. They have Rights as individuals and as a class of human beings.

This is what I believe, my mission is to ensure that in the scramble by different factions of adults to secure their rights, the children are not forgotten. Because African adults are particularly vulnerable to the loss of their rights, it becomes extremely urgent that African children's rights are not subjugated to the rights of the suffering adults. As adult Africans are resolving their rights issues, the rights of African children should be independently and clearly upheld and defended.

Alexander Fundafunda
CRM 2008