Protecting Future Rights for Future Citizens Sandra F. Joireman Department of Political Science University of Richmond
Identify three interventions that will begin to address the problem Goals Identify the scope of a problem regarding children’s property rights after conflict Identify three interventions that will begin to address the problem
Motivation Average length of displacement due to violence is now 17 years. 15 years for economies to recover after conflict. Children grow up in places of refuge and need economic assets when/if they return home.
Presentation Outline The problem of children’s property rights Four threats to children’s property rights after conflict and displacement Three potential interventions Conclusion
The Unique Nature of Children
Tension in the treatment of children in the law Nurture/Protection (understandings of childhood) Future Citizens (future property rights)
International Law Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, etc., for the Protection of Children (1996). Article 1 calls for states to “protect the person or property of the child.” Children’s property rights not specifically addressed in other conventions
Common Civil Customary Domestic Law Uncodified Semi-citizenship No specific inheritance requirements Common Heads of household have rights to children’s property Required distribution of estate to children Civil Uncodified SSA, Afghanistan, Western Balkans Customary Property rights of children are invested in or insured by the parent or guardian
Conflict and Vulnerability Children’s property rights are most under threat when they are orphaned or separated from parents.
Four Threats Loss of Guardianship Time – short term needs vs. long-term economic opportunities Memory – children, parents, authority figures Documentation – loss
Three recommendations Legal Recognition of Children’s Property Rights Data Acquisition in first place of refuge Portability of Data – Travel with the Child
Legal Recognition and Customary Law The community will find another guardian to protect the child’s interests. Children’s property interests will be safeguarded Guardians unwilling to take children in. Guardians take children’s property or do not protect their future rights
Changes to the allocation of family estates South African Model South Africa recognized that children under customary systems had fewer protections of their property rights Children’s Act 2005 Changes to the allocation of family estates
Data Acquisition in First Place of Refuge Information on family assets should be acquired when individuals and families are first displaced or as soon thereafter as possible No such process now Medical information, family relationships Knowledge is fresh
Data Portability Travel with the Child Across place Over time Allows the ability to reclaim if return occurs Evidence for mass claims Technologically possible Cloud Blockchain
Conclusion Outlined the scope of a problem Exacerbated in conflict settings, complex emergencies or other conditions where you have a loss of guardianship through death of parents or separation Threefold intervention Legal protection – customary law Data Acquisition on Assets Data Portability
Photo credits 1)Kosovo Tank and kids photo http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Everyone%20Else/pages-15/Serbia-still-just- waiting-for-observers-to-leave-as-Kosovo-is-declared-independent-Scrape-TV-The-World- on-your-side-2012-09-11.html#.U0H-bfldXi0 2)Kids pic http://www.lsem.org/CHAP_287.aspx 3) Child and barbed wire http://wallpaperstock.net/war-zone- children_wallpapers_17558_1440x900_1.html