Audit of the Frameworks for the Regulation of Legal Guardianship of Children Under International Law

Rofiah Ololade Sarumi & Ann Strode - Perspectives on the Legal Guardianship of Children in Côte d'Ivoire, South Africa, and Uganda

Abstract

Since the adoption of the Geneva Declaration on the Rights of the Child in 1924, much advancement has been made on the international protection of the rights of children internationally, with the adoption of the CRC and the ACRW. These instruments require states to give specific and special legal protection to children without parental care. The stipulation is found in various provisions of the Declaration on the Rights of the Child, the CRC and the ACRWC. The UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children (the Guidelines), which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2010, also categorically provides that ‘no child should be without the support and protection of a legal guardian or other recognised responsible adult or competent public body at any time’. The appointment of a legal guardian is, therefore, a legal requirement and a special protection for a child who is deprived of parental care or of a family. This chapter [from the book Perspectives on the Legal Guardianship of Children in Côte d'Ivoire, South Africa, and Uganda] looks at what the international law instruments recommend regarding the appointment of legal guardians. It provides an audit of the instruments which are applicable to the regulation of the appointment of legal guardians for children both at the global and regional levels. The chapter further highlights the similarities and differences between the standards at the various levels.