13.2 million out-of-school children: SERAP drags FG to ICC

TheAGOS-The Socio-Economic Rights and Responsibility Project, SERAP, petitioned Ms. Fatou Bensouda, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, ICC, urging her to use her "good offices to investigate" on the problem of out-of-school children ". in Nigeria, and the failure of the Nigerian authorities over the years to address them constitutes violence against children and crimes against humanity falling within the jurisdiction of the ICC. "

The organization urged Ms. Bensouda to "advocate for those responsible for this problem, including current and former presidents and state governors since 1999, who, directly or indirectly, have failed in their personal duty and / or collective to discharge their special duty towards children. accomplice to the crime, to be tried by the ICC. "

In the petition dated 19 July 2019 and signed by SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said: "Investigating and prosecuting Nigerian officials and providing reparations to the victims will help to serve the best interests of the children. Nigerians, the most vulnerable citizens. in our country and put an end to the impunity that deprives them of their right to education and a life without violence or fear. "

SERAP said: "These out-of-school Nigerian children have been exposed to real danger, violence and even premature death. Senior Nigerian politicians since 1999 have not understood the seriousness of the crime of leaving millions of children out of school and have made an essential contribution to the commission of this crime. "

The petition reads in part as follows: "There is no immunity for crimes punishable under the Rome Statute. The crime of leaving millions of Nigerian children out of school is an opportunity for your Office to demonstrate the Court's commitment to effectively implementing its child policy and other important international criminal justice declarations.

"Putting on the streets millions of Nigerian children who should be in school exposes them to violence, including badual violence, kidnapping, and other forms of exploitation and violence. against children, and is implicitly equivalent to slavery, child trafficking and disease. – treatment, three of the eleven acts may constitute a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute. "

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