HumanRightsDay: South Africa is violating its own Constitution as well as international obligations when it comes to undocumented children, writes Magnus Killander.
Is South Africa regularly denying children their right to access education as well as health care on the grounds either of petty bureaucracy or by a misinterpretation of the country’s laws and international obligations?The country places limitations on children’s access to education and affordable health care. This is particularly true of migrant children. These limitations are, in my view, unconstitutional and in violation of South Africa’s international obligations.
Children who are not South African citizens often also struggle to access affordable health care through what’s been called “medical xenophobia”. no learner may be excluded from a public school on the basis that he or she does not have an identity number, permit or passport. The right to health care is provided for in article 27 of the Constitution. The National Health Act 61 of 2003 provides for free health care at public facilities for children under six years old, unless a child is covered by private medical insurance.
The principle of the best interest of the child was first set out in an international treaty 30 years ago in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It was reiterated in the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. South Africa is party to both these treaties. In addition, the South African Constitution provides that: A child is defined as anyone below the age of 18.
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