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Children’s Rights – 2009

The U.S. State Department Human Rights Report suggested that there were some challenges to the protection of children’s rights–despite commitment from the government regarding children’s rights and welfare.¹ However, on 29 December 2009, the National Assembly endorsed the Child Act, bringing Sudanese legislation closer into line the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The new Child Act defines a child as a person less than 18 years of age. The Act increases the age of criminal responsibility from 7 years to 12 years of age, and increases in the maximum period of imprisonment for rape to 20 years. The Act also criminalized the corporal punishment of children in schools.²

1. “2009 County Reports on Human Rights Practices- Sudan,” U.S. State Department, 2010, accessed January 26, 2012, http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/af/135978.htm.
2. “The CPA Monitor-Monthly report on the Implementation of the CPA,” UNMIS, December 2009.