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The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) petitioned Ms. Fatou Bensouda, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), urging her to use her "good offices to investigate the problem of children out of school in the country ". Nigeria, and the failure of the Nigerian authorities over the years to address them, constitute violence against children and crimes against humanity falling within the jurisdiction of the ICC. "
The organization urged Ms. Bensouda to "press for the perpetrators of this problem, including current and former presidents and state governors since 1999, to have directly or indirectly failed in their duty to the children and accomplice. crime, to be tried by the ICC. "
In the petition dated 19 July 2019 and signed by SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization stated: "Investigating the prosecution of senior Nigerian officials and compensating the victims will help to serve the best interests of the victims. Nigerian children, the most vulnerable 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. "
SERAP also stated: "The ICC has stated in the Lubanga case that the interruption, delay and denial of the right of children to education are a crime of the jurisdiction of the Court. SERAP believes that the reality for children living in the Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of Congo is similar to that of millions of out – of – school children in Nigeria, as this situation deprives an entire generation of children from living in the country. children of their right. to education and human dignity. "
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 implement 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. "
"If the ICC does not declare the problem of more than 13 million Nigerian children out of school as a violence against children and a crime against humanity, and engages the responsibility of those responsible since 1999, the number of out-of-school children will continue to rise, and these children may never receive formal education at all. "
"Nigeria is a State party to the Rome Statute and deposited its instrument of ratification on September 27, 2001. According to the Nigerian Commission for Universal Basic Education (UBEC), the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria has grown from 10.5 million to 13.2 million. "
"This figure is based on a survey conducted in 2015 by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Nigerian government. UNICEF data also shows that one in five Nigerian out-of-school children is in Nigeria. However, Nigeria's former education minister, Adamu Adamu, has suggested that the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria would be 10,193,918, citing a recent "national staff audit" of public and private schools. in the country ".
"According to the former Minister of Education, the 36 states of Nigeria are affected by the problem of out-of-school children, but the problem is more widespread and systematic in the following states: Kano, Akwa Ibom, Katsina, Kaduna, Taraba, Sokoto, Yobe, Zamfara, Oyo, Benue, Jigawa and Ebonyi. "
"Girls are disproportionately represented among out-of-school children. In Nigeria's only northeast, 2.8 million children are in need of emergency education support in three conflict-affected states (Borno, Yobe). , Adamawa). In these states, at least 802 schools remain closed and 497 clbadrooms are listed as destroyed, and another 1,392 are damaged but repairable. "
"Under Nigerian law and international human rights treaties to which Nigeria is a party, the Nigerian authorities, at both the federal and state levels, have a legally binding obligation to provide immediately to all Nigerian children free and universal primary education and quality. education at all other levels without discrimination. "
"Over the years, the Nigerian authorities have limited educational opportunities for children with disabilities, including by not providing equipment such as hearing aids, ramps for school buildings." , wheelchairs, crutches, goggles and surgeries for children in need and not meeting the educational challenges that children face. with disabilities, in general.
"SERAP notes that your office has launched in 2016 a policy for children that aims to send a firm and consistent message that humanity is united in its determination that crimes against children are not tolerated and that their perpetrators do not go unpunished. "The policy is intended to help your office in its efforts to aggressively fight these crimes, taking into account the rights and best interests of the child."
"SERAP also notes that at the launch of the policy, you stated, inter alia, that" a crime against a child is a crime against humanity as a whole; it's an affront to our basic tenets of human decency. Children are our greatest resource and must be protected from danger in order to reach their full potential. At the ICC, we intend to play our part in the legal framework of the Rome Statute. "
"This statement is fully in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Nigeria is a State Party, and shows that children will not be invisible in the exercise of jurisdiction. of the ICC and that your office will extend its work. to ensure the well-being of children, including millions of Nigerian children out of school. "
"The sensitivity of the Rome Statute to issues relating to children is clearly demonstrated in Article 68 (1) by the fact that the Court must" take into account all relevant factors, including bad and the nature of the crime, in particular ". particularly when the crime involves badual or gender-based violence. gender-based violence or violence against children. "Article 54 (1) states that" the Prosecutor shall take into account the nature of the crime, in particular when it occurs ". Is violence against children "."
"SERAP is seriously concerned that the problem of out-of-school children is widespread and systematic, affecting the 36 states of the country and that of Abuja for many years since 1999. The problem of out-of-school children has had catastrophic consequences. effects on the lives of millions of children, their families and their communities, comparable to violence against children as part of the Court's policy, and crimes against humanity such as that they are envisaged in the Rome Statute. "
"The Rome Statute Article 7 defines "crime against humanity" as including "inhumane acts causing great suffering or serious injury", committed in a widespread or systematic manner against a civilian population. The common denominator of crimes against humanity is that they are a serious affront to human security and dignity. "
"The consequences of throwing millions of Nigerian children who should be educated on the street are similar to those of the offenses referred to in Article 7 (1) (k) of the Rome Statute. Senior government officials know or ought to know that their inability to prevent millions of Nigerian children from roaming the streets will expose them to violence, deprive them of their human dignity and worsen insecurity. growing in the country. "
"SERAP considers that the apparent failure of successive governments and senior government officials to prevent a widespread and systematic problem of out-of-school children is tantamount to complicity under the Rome Statute."
"This crime against Nigerian children continued to deprive our children of their innocence, their childhood and often, tragically, their untimely death, depriving Nigeria of its future potential and greater resource."
"The national authorities of the States Parties to the Court constitute the first line of defense with regard to crimes against children, as they bear the primary responsibility for the investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators of these crimes. But successive governments in Nigeria have been reluctant or unable to tackle the problem of out-of-school children and put an end to the crime against humanity. "
"SERAP believes that substantial grounds justify the intervention of the Prosecutor in this case. Under the Rome Statute, the Prosecutor has the power to intervene in a situation within the jurisdiction of the Court if the Security Council or States Parties refer to a situation or if information is provided by other sources such as SERAP information is providing in this case.
SERAP therefore urged the ICC Prosecutor to:
- Urgently launch an investigation proprio motu on the widespread and systematic problem of out-of-school children in Nigeria since the return of democracy in 1999, with a view to determining whether these constitute violence against children and a crime against humanity falling within the jurisdiction of the courtyard. In this regard, we also urge you to invite representatives of the Government of Nigeria to submit written or oral statements to the seat of the Court, so that the Prosecutor can conclude, in the light of available information, that there is a reasonable basis for an investigation, and submit an application to the Pre-Trial Chamber to authorize an investigation;
- Bringing to justice those suspected of being responsible for the widespread and systematic problem of out-of-school children in Nigeria;
- Urge the Nigerian government to fulfill its obligations under the Rome Statute to cooperate with the ICC; in particular by accessing your requests for the arrest and surrender of alleged perpetrators of the widespread and systematic crime of leaving millions of Nigerian children out of school, to testify and to provide further support to the ICC
- Urge the Nigerian authorities at the federal and state levels to ensure that millions of out-of-school children enjoy their right to education and access to justice, and to provide reparations to victims, including restitution, compensation, rehabilitation and the guarantee of non-repetition
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