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African Human Rights Law Journal

On-line version ISSN 1996-2096
Print version ISSN 1609-073X

Afr. hum. rights law j. vol.10 n.1 Pretoria  2010

 

ARTICLES

 

Who does the law seek to protect and from what? The application of international law on child labour in an African context

 

 

Tendai Charity Nhenga-Chakarisa

Senior Researcher (Child Rights), Children's Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa

 

 


SUMMARY

Since time immemorial, African indigenous societies have viewed childhood in terms of intergenerational obligations of support and reciprocity, and deemed the period of childhood as that for acquiring the social and technical skills necessary to perform the future roles of adulthood. Children represent lineage continuity and, most importantly, the material survival of their families and the communities at large. International human rights instruments embody a contemporary approach to childhood which views it as a distinct and separate stage of innocence, physical weakness, mental immaturity and general vulnerability - a period ideologically excluded from the production of value. With these differences in the approaches to child development, the potential for discordance between African customary laws and practices on the one hand and the objectives of the international children's rights instruments, on the other hand, is real. Can a world of such social and cultural diversity possibly attain universal interpretation, application and acceptance of the international norms of children's rights? The article highlights the challenges involved in applying the international prohibition on child labour to traditional societies of Southern Africa and offers a few compromises for a relevant regime for the region.


 

 

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* BA Law LLB (Lesotho), LLM PhD (Cape Town); tendai.chakarisa@uct.ac.za. This article is an extract from the author's PhD thesis entitled 'International prohibition on child labour in an African context: Lesotho, Zimbabwe and South Africa' (2008).
1 J McKechnie & S Hobbs 'Child labour: A global phenomenon?' (1999) 8 Child Abuse Review 87.         [ Links ]
2 Human Rights watch 'Child labor' http://hrw.org/children/labor.htm (accessed 14 June 2007).
3 Eg, the Convention Fixing the Minimum Age for Admission of Children to Industrial Employment (C 005) of 1919; the Convention Concerning the Night Work of Young Persons Employed in Industry (C 006) of 1919; the Convention Fixing the Minimum Age for Admission of Children to Employment at Sea (C 007) of 1920; the Convention Concerning the Age for Admission of Children to Employment in Agriculture (C 010) of 1921; the Convention Fixing the Minimum Age for the Admission of Young Persons to Employment as Trimmers or Stokers (C 015) of 1921; the Convention concerning the Age for Admission of Children to Non-Industrial Employment (C 033) of 1932; the Convention Concerning the Restriction of Night Work of Children and Young Persons in Non-Industrial Occupations (C 079) of 1946; the Convention Concerning the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment as Fishermen (C 112) of 1959; the Convention Concerning the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment Underground in Mines (C 123) of 1965.
4 C 138 adopted on 26 June 1973 and entered into force on 19 June 1976. K Hanson & A Vandaele 'Working children and international labour law' (2003) 11 International Journal of Children's Rights 99.
5 Art 1; J Boyden et al What works for working children (1998) 188.
6 Boyden et al (n 5 above) 195.
7 Art 2(3). The Convention was supplemented by Recommendation 146 which advocated the raising of the minimum age to 16 years. In general, the recommendation provides the broad framework and essential policy measures for both the prevention of child labour and its elimination. It, however, recommends that the 'minimum age' should be fixed at the same level for all sectors of economic activity.
8 Art 2(4). Boyden et al (n 5 above) 195 188.
9 Art 7(1).
10 Art 7(4).
11 Arts 3(1) & (3).
12 Art 3. Hanson & Vandaele (n 4 above) 99.
13 Art 2(3).
14 GA Res 44/25, annex, 44 UN GAOR Supp (No 49) 167, UN Doc A/44/49 (1989), entered into force 2 September 1990.
15 United Nations treaty collection http://www.treaties.un.org (accessed 26 March 2010).
16 Art 32(1).
17 Art 10(3) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights prohibited the exploitation of children.
18 ILO Convention 182.
19 List of ratifications for ILO Convention 182 http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/ratifce.pl?C182 (accessed 26 March 2010).
20 It also stipulates the minimum age for admission to employment which must not be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling.
21 Arts 3(a)-(c). This article will not dwell on the worst forms of child labour.
22 To date, 45 countries out of the 53 members of the AU have ratified the Charter. http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/Documents/Treaties/treaties.htm (accessed 26 March 2010); A Lloyd 'Evolution of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the African Committee of Experts: Raising the gauntlet' (2002) 10 International journal of Children's Rights 179, DM Chirwa 'The merits and demerits of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child' (2002) 10 International Journal of Children's Rights 157.
23 Lloyd (n 22 above) 180-183.
24 Art 15(2)(d) also encourages the dissemination of information on the dangers of child labour to all sectors of the community, having regard to the relevant ILO instruments relating to children.
25 Art 27 African Children's Charter.
26 Art 29 African Children's Charter.
27 Art 12 African Children's Charter.
28 Art 4(1) African Children's Charter.
29 OAU Doc CAB/LEG/67/3 Rev 5, reprinted in C Heyns & M Killander (eds) Compendium of key human rights documents of the African Union (2006) 23, adopted on 27 June 1981 and entered into force on 21 October 1986.
30 M Evans & R Murray (eds) The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights: The system in practice, 1986-2000 (2002) 229.
31 M Mutua 'The African human rights system: A critical evaluation' http://hdr.undp.org/docs/publications/background_papers/MUTUA.PDF (accessed 4 March 2004).
32 These provisions, however, seem to be at odds with the human rights regime's general emphasis on individuality. J Sloth-Nielsen & BD Mezmur 'A dutiful child: The implications of article 31 of the African Children's Charter' (2008) 52 Journal of African Law 159 160.
33 Sloth-Nielsen & Mezmur (n 32 above) 170.
34 In several parts of Europe and the United States, children work for pay, particularly in seasonal activities, street trades, small workshops and at home. B Creighton 'Combating child labour: The role of international labour standards' (1996-1997) 18 Comparative Labour Law Journal 362 364.
35 Boyden et al (n 5 above) 140.
36 Due to the labour migration and Western influences, African families who have moved to urban areas have adopted this kind of social structure, although they still maintain some links (even if limited) with their extended family remaining in the rural areas.
37 S Wise & A Sanson 'Child care in cultural context: issues for new research' (2000) 22 Australian Institute of Family Studies 3.         [ Links ]
38 As above.
39 V Pupavac 'The infantilisation of the south and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child' (1998) 3 Human Rights Law Review 3.         [ Links ]
40 Arts 12, 13, 14 & 15.
41 This illustrates the complexity of the child labour discourse whereby one has to balance protecting the child from abuse and exploitation while promoting and respecting the child's right to self-determination. R Hodgkin & P Newel Implementation handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the Child (2001) 149.
42 JAM Cobbah 'African values and the human rights debate: An African perspective' (1987) 9 Human Rights Quarterly 309 320.         [ Links ]
43 TW Bennett Human rights and African customary law under the South African Constitution (1995) 5.         [ Links ]
44 Wise & Sanson (n 37 above) 3; W Ncube Law, culture, tradition and childrens rights in Eastern and Southern Africa (1998) 203.
45 RT Nhlapo 'International protection of human rights and the family: African variations on a common theme' (1989) 3 International Journal of Law and the Family 1 4.
46 AA An-Na'im & FM Deng (eds) Human rights in Africa: Cross-cultural perspectives (1990) 16.
47 As above.
48 Boyden et al (n 5 above) 32.
49 This led to African support for collective rights and for restrictions on individual rights in the interest of the community, as well as for an emphasis on responsibilities. A Pollis & P Schwab Human rights: Cultural and ideological perspectives (1979) 8-9.
50 Art 31 African Children's Charter.
51 It may be noted at this point that practical experience also demonstrates the existence of an international divide between rich and poor societies, according to which the industrialised countries of Europe and North America (and often Western-educated elites in poorer countries) tend to conceive of childhood and raise their children differently than the less economically developed societies of Africa, Asia and elsewhere. Those in developing countries often reject Western-influenced international child labour standards because the views of children and childhood implicit in such standards do not adequately fit in with the realities of developing countries. WE Myers 'Considering child labour: Changing terms, issues and actors at the international level' (1999) 6 Childhood 13; see also T Nhenga 'International prohibition on child labour in an African perspective: Lesotho, Zimbabwe and South Africa' unpublished PhD thesis, University of Cape Town, 2008 156-180.
52 Art 31: '(1) States Parties recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts. (2) States Parties shall respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity.'
53 Art 5.
54 Art 24(3).
55 E Verhellen (ed) Understanding children's rights (1996) 58.
56 Cobbah (n 42 above) 309.
57 The concept of child has sometimes been used to give information about certain relationships. Eg, regardless of how old we become, we will always be our parents' children. Those who are born last will always be the 'baby' of the family, regardless of age, accomplishments or physical attributes. J Gabarino Children and families in the social environment (1992) 99.
58 KA Bentley 'Can there be any universal children's rights?' (2005) 9 International Journal of Human Rights 107.
59 In African cultures, eg, the duration of child dependence and subordination is not fixed. The age roles for all individuals also vary; A Fletcher & S Hussey (eds) Childhood in question: Children, parents and the state (1999) 32.
60 Hence, the various dimensions of childhood need not converge in defining one consistent and agreed-upon period of human life. D Archard Children: Rights and childhood (1993) 32-3.
61 As above.
62 As above.
63 He believed that children could not participate as full citizens as they did not have the requisite rationality to exercise their natural freedom and rights. S Lugtig 'A review of David Archard's Children: Rights and childhood' (1996) 41 Mcgill Law journal 893.
64 L Abernethie 'Child labour in contemporary society: Why do we care?' (1998) 6 International Journal of Children's Rights 81 87.
65 'Child psychology' University of Kansas http://www.kuce.org/isc/previews/psyc/psyc333_lesson.html (accessed 16 October 2005).
66 Abernethie (n 64 above) 87.
67 Curator 'Centuries of childhood', Kent University Museum http://dept.kent.edu/museum/exhibit/kids/kids.html (accessed 16 October 2005).
68 Abernethie (n 64 above) 87-88.
69 Archard (n 60 above) 39.
70 Boyden et al (n 5 above) 27; Archard (n 60 above) 37.
71 WE Myers 'Appreciating diverse approaches to child labour' presentation during the symposium 'Child Labour and the Globalising Economy: Lessons from Asia/Pacific Countries' 7-9 February 2001, Child Labour website http://www.childlabor.org/symposium/myers.htm (accessed 5 October 2006).
72 A Fyfe Child labour (1989) 13.
73 Ncube (n 44 above) 17.
74 As above.
75 It is clear that these prescriptions have been codified into international standards and domestic legislation. Eg, arts 19, 24, 28, 31, 32 & 36 of CRC; secs 28(e) & (f) of the Constitution of South Africa; sec 43 of the South African Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997.
76 Art 1 CRC.
77 Art 2 African Children's Charter.
78 Art 2 African Children's Charter.
79 Art 2 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention.
80 Refer to the 'African conception' of child above.
81 O Nieuwenhuys 'The paradox of child labour and anthropology' (1996) 25 Annual Review of Anthropology 237 246.
82 Women and Law in Southern Africa 'Towards a cultural understanding of the interplay between children's rights and women's rights: An Eastern and Southern African perspective' Working Paper 11, February 1995 7.
83 Age was treated as an approximate benchmark, not an exact record. Ncube (n 44 above) 100. The arbitrary fixing of the age of majority by a legal fiction is thus problematic in African countries where the conception of childhood differs radically from the Western notion embodied in international human rights instruments. Women and Law in Southern Africa (n 82 above) 7.
84 Bhaca girls, eg, from an early age took an active part in the housework of the kraal and learned the essential feminine techniques of grinding, cooking and field-work. Young boys learned how to handle livestock, treat their diseases and assist them when giving birth. P Alston (ed) The best interests of child: Reconciling culture and human rights (1994) 90; WD Hammond-Tooke Bhaca society: A people of the Transkeian Uplands South Africa (1962) 77.
85 Ncube (n 44 above) 12.
86 This may be the same in some Western cultures, but it is not a practice socially expected. JF Holleman Shona customary law with reference to kinship, marriage, the family and the estate (1969) 62.
87 As above.
88 Ncube (n 44 above) 100.
89 As above.
90 As above.
91 Ncube (n 44 above) 207.
92 As above.
93 Hammond-Tooke (n 84 above) 77.
94 As above.
95 R Macmillan & R Copher 'Families in the life course: Interdependency of roles, role configurations, and pathways' (2005) 67 journal of Marriage and the Family 858 868-75.
96 In the same way that societies may consider a person over the age of 18 as a child, either socially or biologically, they may also deem a person below that age as an adult. Examples of such are a 'child chief', a 'child parent' or a 'child spouse'. They fall in the category of parent or adult by virtue of having the same name of an ancestral spirit, by procreation or by marital status. In all these instances, the society may accord the child the status of an adult in the position so appointed or attained. Women and Law in Southern Africa (n 82 above) 7.
97 As above.
98 Chirwa (n 22 above) 160.
99 Art 3(1) CRC.
100 HJ Steiner & P Alston International human rights in context: Law, politics, morals (2000) 517-518.
101 Boyden et al (n 5 above) 27.
102 Eg, '[d]efining development in terms of progressive stages fits the empirical observation that children everywhere grow bigger and stronger with age and master new skills and new insights daily. It also seems to make feasible the measurement of developmental progress in individual children thought the application of behavioural and developmental tests.' Boyden et al (n 5 above) 31.
103 Boyden et al (n 5 above) 39; Hanson & Vandaele (n 4 above) 120; J Gallinetti 'Worst forms of child labour: A view from out of Africa' in J Sloth-Nielsen (ed) Children's rights in Africa: A legal perspective (2008) 327.
104 H Cunningham 'The decline of child labour: Labour markets and family economies in Europe and North America since 1830' (2000) 3 Economic History Review 409 410.
105 H Cullen Role of international law in the elimination of child labour (2007) 22; C Breen 'The role of NGOs in the formulation of and compliance with the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict' (2003) 25 Human Rights Quarterly 453.
106 Art 32 of CRC provides: 'States Parties recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.'
107 Art 15 African Children's Charter.
108 'The distinction between work and labour is to be found in a critical overview of the climate in which these processes operate and the quality of the relationships in operation.' SN Mishra & S Mishra Tiny hands in unorganised sector: Towards elimination of child labour (2004) 15.
109 UNICEF is an organ of the UN mandated by the UN General Assembly to advocate the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF is guided by CRC and strives to establish children's rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behaviour towards children.
110 E Ochaita et al 'Child work and labour in Spain: A first approach' (2000) 8 International Journal of Children's Rights 15 19; 'Child protection from violence, exploitation and abuse' UNICEF website http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_childlabour.html (accessed 18 June 2008).
111 Ochaita (n 110 above) 19.
112 National Research Council of the National Academies Monitoring international labour standards: Techniques and sources of information (2004) 169.
113 Mishra & Mishra (n 108 above) 15.
114 Eg, are boys who spend their day playing in the fields and scaring away birds working? They may not perceive their activity as work, nor may their parents, yet it may have a positive effect on productivity. G Rodgers & G Standing (eds) Child work, poverty and underdevelopment (1981) 91.
115 JC Andvig 'Child labour in sub-Saharan Africa: An exploration' (1998) 2 Forum for Development Studies 327 328.
116 Abernethie (n 64 above) 91-99.
117 As above.
118 MFC Bourdillon (ed) Earning a life: Working children in Zimbabwe (2000) 9.
119 As above.
120 SL Bachman 'A new economics of child labor: Searching for answer behind the headlines' (2000) 53 Journal of International Affairs 545 554.
121 As above.
122 Bourdillon (n 118 above) 10.
123 VA Zelizer Pricing the priceless child. The changing social value of children (1985) 75.
124 An example was the Health and Morals of Apprentices Act of 1802 in Great Britain, which outlawed night work and attempted to limit the working day in cotton mills. A subsequent Act of 1819 forbade the employment of children under the age of nine in cotton mills. Fyfe (n 72 above) 30; Zelizer (n 123 above) 75.
125 For developed countries, it should not be less than 15 years (art 2 para 3). Developing countries may set the minimum age at 14 (art 2 para 4).
126 Art 2(3) Minimum Age Convention. Since the British Factory Acts of the 19th century, compulsory education has proved to be one of the most effective means of combating child labour. International law reflects an acknowledgment of that fact. The age of admission to employment is thus inextricably linked to the age limit for compulsory education. The logic is that if compulsory schooling ends at the same time as the minimum age for employment, it removes the risk of children engaging in employment before they are legally entitled to work and rules out an enforced period of idleness. ILO: Minimum Age, General Survey of the Reports Relating to Convention No 138 and Recommendation No 146 Concerning Minimum Age, Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of the Conventions and Recommendations, Report III (Part 4(B)), ILC, 67th session, Geneva, 1981, para 140.
127 Art 2(4) Minimum Age Convention.
128 The Convention, however, provides flexibility for countries to establish a younger minimum age of 12 or 13 for children to partake in 'light work' (art 7). Hanson & Vandaele (n 4 above) 101.
129 Art 7(1) Minimum Age Convention.
130 Arts 3(1) & (3) Minimum Age Convention.
131 J McKechnie & S Hobbs 'Child labour: A global phenomenon?' (1999) 8 Child Abuse Review 87 88.
132 Authors argue that 'a universalised standard excluding children below a particular age from employment or work as set out in article 2 of the [Minimum Age] Convention is unjustified ... insufficient attempts have been made to determine the impact of setting a minimum age for admission to employment or work on children; and the effort of enforcingf "blanket prohibitions" affecting all work (even safe work) diverts attention away from the need to intervene in forms and conditions of work that are harmful to children'. M Bourdillon et al cited in Sloth-Nielsen (n 103 above) 328.
133 SL Bachman 'The political economy of child labour and its impacts on international business' http://www.nabe.com/publib/be/000330.pdf#search=% 22us%20Dept.%20of%20Labour%20(1998)%20definition%20of%20child% 20labour%22 (accessed 19 September 2006).
134 As above.
135 Art 28 CRC and art 2 of the Minimum Age Convention. Boyden et al (n 5 above) 249-250.
136 As above.
137 Sixty million African children combine schooling and work. A Admassie 'Explaining the high incidence of child labour in sub-Saharan Africa' (2002) 14 African Development Review 251 255.
138 R Anker 'The economics for child labour: A framework for measurement' (2000) 139 International Labour Review 257 261.
139 C Heady 'What is the effect of child labour on learning achievement? Evidence from Ghana' UNICEF Innocenti Working Papers (2000) 79.
140 Anker (n 138 above) 261.
141 PB Larsen 'Indigenous and tribal children: Assessing child labour and education challenges' Child labour and Education Working Paper, International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/publ/download/edu_ indigenous_2003_en.pdf (accessed 21 September 2006).
142 Rodgers & Standing (n 114 above) 33.
143 Larsen (n 141above).
144 As above.
145 Boyden et al (n 5 above) 58.
146 Boyden et al (n 5 above) 110.
147 Art 32(1) CRC; arts 3 & 7 Minimum Age Convention; and art 3 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention.
148 Nhenga (n 51 above) 19.
149 Boyden et al (n 5 above) 29-39.
150 Boyden et al (n 5 above) 79.
151 As above.
152 Boyden et al (n 5 above) 144 110.
153 As above.
154 As above.
155 Alston (n 84 above) 20.
156 DM Smolin 'Conflict and ideology in the international campaign against child labour' (1999) 16 Hofstra Labour and Employment Law Journal 401-402.
157 The challenge, however, would be how to effectively and objectively assess the capacities of each child.
158 As above.
159 Verhellen (n 55 above) 59.
160 Eg, India ratified CEDAW and CRC in response to the increasing international scrutiny of its human rights record, after Pakistan tabled a resolution to the Commission of Human Rights on the state of human rights in Kashmir. Iran also acceded to CRC because it was under pressure at the time due to its human rights record. Brazil ratified CERD to show some participation in international human rights; the former USSR ratified CERD and CEDAW as part of the international trend to do so, not wanting to lag behind other states; the same applies to the Philippines with respect to CRC. Japan ratified CERD when it was the only liberal democracy left that had not done so. PE Veerman The rights of the child and the changing image of childhood (1992) 183.
161 South Africa ratified five treaties shortly after the end of apartheid. Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) 'The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child' http://212.60.76.30/modules/news/index.php?storytopic=16 (accessed 11 September 2007).
162 Boyden et al (n 5 above) 68.
163 CRC came about as a result of long-term advocacy by voluntary organisations such as Save the Children and, more specifically, in response to Poland's call for an international instrument on children's rights to mark the 1979 International Year of the Child. M Freeman The moral status of children: Essays on the rights of the child (1997) 53.
164 As above.
165 As above.
166 Only four developing countries had representation at the CRC sessions of the Open-Ended Working Group, namely, Algeria, Morocco, Senegal and Egypt. Their participation, however, was sporadic. The rest of the African countries (including Lesotho, Zimbabwe and South Africa) never took part at all. Throughout the proceedings, NGOs representing the interests of children were involved only periodically and their participation was badly co-ordinated. Freeman (n 163 above) 53; Veerman (n 160 above); IHRDA (n 161 above).
167 It would also seem that before the drafting and negotiation stage, little effort is put into researching the indigenous societies of non-Western countries, which are meant to benefit from those instruments. Moreover, there is little regard to whether or not the representatives of countries have done the necessary consultations with their national constituencies.
168 The gradation of standards has thus historically been part of ILO Minimum Age Conventions.
169 Smolin (n 156 above) 393.
170 Myers (n 51 above) 22.
171 B White 'Defining the intolerable: Child work, global standards and cultural relativism' (1999) 6 Childhood 133 135.
172 See A Bekele & WE Myers First things first in child labour: Eliminating work detrimental to children (1995) 29.
173 As above.
174 Boyden et al (n 5 above) 324-326.
175 C Sunstein 'Rights and their critics' (1995) 70 Notre Dame Law Review 727 730-2.
176 In addition, the rules which the human rights movement seeks to impose would, if actually enforced, severely limit cultural, familial, religious and personal freedom. Smolin (n 156 above) 400.
177 'Leaders sing the praises of traditional communities - while they wield arbitrary power antithetical to traditional values, pursue development policies that systematically undermine traditional communities and replace traditional leaders with corrupt cronies and party hacks. Such cynical manipulation of tradition occurs everywhere.' J Donnelly Universal human rights in theory and practice (1989) 118.
178 Steiner & Alston (n 100 above) 336-337.
179 Bennett (n 43 above) 5.
180 Myers (n 51 above) 42.
181 R Himes (ed) Implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Resource mobilisation in low-income countries (1995) 190-191.
182 Eg, in Zimbabwe, the Labour Relations Regulations of Statutory Instrument 72 of 1997 and sec 10A of the Children's Act (Cap 5:06) of 2001 which regulate the work of children must be supported by policies from the Ministries of Education; Health and Child Welfare; Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare; and Youth Sports and Culture. Local government and traditional authorities must also be involved in conscientising and mobilising their respective communities in putting into effect such legal interventions.
183 A St J Hannigan 'The imposition of Western law forms upon primitive societies' (1961) 4 Comparative Studies in Society and History 1-5.
184 Hanson & Vandaele (n 4 above) 75.
185 Legal systems do not float in a cultural void, free of space and time and social context, but ought to reflect what is happening in the societies they regulate. LM Friedman 'Borders: On the emerging sociology of transnational law' (1996) 32 Stanford Journal of International Law 65 72-75.
186 T Kaime 'The Convention on the Rights of the Child and the cultural legitimacy of children's rights in Africa: Some reflections' (2005) 5 African Human Rights Law Journal 223.
187 OR Lovejoy 'The test of effective child labor legislation' (1905) 25 Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 45-52.
188 SB Burman & BE Harrell-Bond The imposition of law: Studies on law and social control (1979) 16.
189 As above.
190 V Sewpaul 'Challenging East-West value dichotomies and essentialising discourse on culture and social work' (2007) 16 International Journal of Social Welfare 398.
191 Essentialism regards culture as separate, clearly bounded, internally uniform and static. S Laden & D Owen Multiculturalism and political theory (2007) 227.
192 K Pakesa & S Roy-Chowdhury 'Examining the practice of cross-cultural family therapy' (2007) 29 Journal of Family Therapy 268.
193 R Mahalingam 'Essentialism, culture and power: Rethinking social class' (2003) 59 Journal of Social Issues 733 735.
194 U Narayan & S Harding (eds) Decentering the center: Philosophy for a multicultural, post-colonial and feminist world (2000) 80.
195 Y Abu-Laban 'Liberalism, multiculturalism and the problem of essentialism' (2002) 6 Citizenship Studies 459 465.
196 Laden & Owen (n 191 abovel) 227. Also see Sewpaul (n 190 above) 404 and ME Goodhart 'Origins and universality in the human rights debates: Cultural essentialism and the challenge of globalisation origins and universality in the human rights debates' (2003) 25 Human Rights Quarterly 935 941.

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