Research and Monitoring

There are a wide range of child rights abuses that take place in the Niger Delta today. In order to effectively protect the rights of children, we need to gain a comprehensive understanding of the issues, the work being done by other agencies and what needs to be done to address these problems.  

Robust research into abuses of child rights provides a sound evidence base for planning and conducting successful future programmes. We target our research to areas which currently receive little attention and work with Nigerian partners in order to gather information based on the direct experiences of those children, families and communities who are affected by child rights abuses in the Niger Delta.

Current research: The Child Rights Project

Working with The Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD) our long-term aim is to protect and promote children's rights throughout Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and River States. We do this by:

1/ Monitoring and documenting child rights abuse. There is currently a lack of detailed information on the nature and scope of child rights abuses in this area. Data on abuses of rights is essential for effective campaigning and advocacy purposes and for conducting successful litigation at the national and international levels.

2/ Reporting cases of abuse to the relevant authorities, and monitoring the progress of such cases. This will allow us to monitor the capacity and willingness of the Nigerian authorities to pursue cases of child rights abuse, which will in turn enable targeted campaigning and advocacy strategies.

3/ Promoting an understanding of and respect for children’s human rights within the Niger Delta. The need for greater awareness of child rights within Nigerian society is well-established and is essential to prevent continued violations of child rights.

Future projects:

• Children’s Rights and Oil Pollution: The environmental degradation caused by oil pollution in the Niger Delta has a significant negative effect on children’s rights, especially the rights to food, water, health and shelter. Children have also become involved in militant activity related to the oil industry in the Delta. However, there has been little research which specifically investigates how children are affected and what can be done to improve the situation.

• Child Trafficking: Nigeria is a major source, transit and destination country for child victims of trafficking, and within Nigeria trafficking is a particular problem within the Niger Delta. There is a clear need for research to investigate the reasons why children in the Niger Delta are so vulnerable to being trafficked, and what can be done to combat this.