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COMBATING THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON CHILD LABOUR THROUGH EFFECTIVE ENFORCEMENT OF LAWS IN NIGERIA AND ETHIOPIA
No full textChild labour is a serious global problem, and Africa appears to be the worst hit. Nigeria and Ethiopia are developing countries in Africa, contending with child labour. There are national, regional and international legal measures aimed at curtailing the spate of child labour in these jurisdictions. Despite these legal measures, child labour remains endemic as children face exploitative labour due to factors such as poverty and poor enforcement of existing laws. The need for enforcement of child labour laws becomes more pressing as the world presentlycontends with the novel pandemic, coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Although research indicates that children have less severe symptoms and lower mortality rates than other age groups, measures such as the closure of businesses and schools directly affect children. Closure of schools and lack of access to e-learning tools by poor families also make children susceptible to child labour. Relying on doctrinal research and secondary empirical research, this paper advocates the need for the government in Nigeria and Ethiopia to explore practical legal measures to enforce child labour laws. It is averred that the countries under reference can share experiences that would drive the desired enforcement of existing laws. It is important to set up effective mechanisms that would prioritise the best interests of the child
CHILD PROTECTION AND THE UNSEEN CHALLENGES OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN ETHIOPIA AND NIGERIA
Get PDFChild protection concerns the prevention and response to the three most egregious harms facing children - abuse, exploitation, and violence. This article highlights challenges that affect child protection within the realities of the COVID-19 control measures and thereafter gives content to the usefulness and need for multisectoral collaboration in the implementation of children’s rights as part of the broader response to the COVID-19 challenges. Efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic are necessary for the health of the world’s population. However, these efforts, as identified, are exposing vulnerable groups and especially children in Nigeria and Ethiopia to increased risk of maltreatment, violence, sexual abuse, and exploitation. School closures, movement restrictions, overcrowded spaces at home, loss of jobs by parents, isolation, all increase the possibility that children are experiencing physical, psychological, and sexual abuseespecially children already living in urban slums, violent homes, as well as unhealthy and unstable families. For many children in Nigeria and Ethiopia, growing economic vulnerabilitieswill intensify the likelihood of child labour, child marriage, and child trafficking. It is argued that despite having enabling laws, Nigeria and Ethiopia have not been decisive about fulfilling their normative obligations. Normatively, it is the central role of governments to see that promises made to children under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), and indeed other human rights treaties and national legislation on children are kept. The methodology used in this article is of aqualitative nature that conceptualises child protection as a progressive protective environment involving multidisciplinary components that are interconnected in the sense that child protection is not only descriptive but also normative and prescriptive
Determinants of Red Pepper Productivity in Wera Woreda, Halaba Zone, Southern Nation Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR), Ethiopia.
No full textAbstractEthiopia has favorable climate and soil conditions for cultivating red peppers. This allows the nation to be the leading pepper producer in Africa, holding significant value for both local and export markets. The objective of this study is to examine determinants of Red Pepper Productivity in WeraWoreda, Halaba Zone in Ethiopia. it used a mixed research approach to collect and analyze from 338 farm household. Questionnaire was used as tools of data collection. The Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and OLS (Ordinary Least square) Regression model. The study used the total red pepper output per hectare and estimated amount used as total productivity measures. The result showed that about 6.57quintals of red pepper per hectare produced in the study area. The finding indicated that sex, age, education level of farmers, land size, oxen in hour, off farm income, seed variety, seed amount, credit access and extension contact are found to be a positive determining factors of red pepper productivity. On the other hands, Red pepper disease, Family size, marketing information and Slope of farm land are negative and statistically significant variables which affect red pepper productivities. Thus, the policy makers should work on accessing smallholders’ farmers to agricultural input such as seed Varity, pesticides and crop medicine, accessing for different off farm activities, access more marketing information and create strong institutional support for credit access to increase red pepper productivity in Wera woreda
Determinants of Performance Audit Effectiveness in Tigray Regional State
No full textPerformance audit is essential for enhancing accountability, transparency, and efficient utilization of resources in the public sector. The present research examines the key determinants influencing the effectiveness of performance audits in Tigray Regional State, Ethiopia. Based on a mixed-methods research approach, the study combines the quantitative data collected from 50 performance auditors and 20 audited public sector entities with qualitative data through interviews. The study uses binary logistic regression to examine the impact of six independent variables: management support, auditor ability, and accountability, follow-up after audit, legal requirement, and information technology on audit effectiveness. The findings reveal that management support, competent auditors, information technology, and follow-up after audit significantly enhance audit effectiveness. At the same time, accountability and legal requirements do not show a statistically significant impact. In addition, there is a good practice of the auditors in selected public sectors on the performance audit and the majority of the public sectors are efficient and economical in acquiring. This research contributes to limited regional-level empirical evidence for Ethiopia on performance auditing and offers policy-relevant implications for improving public sector audit effectiveness
THE IMPACT OF NIGERIA’S FEDERAL STRUCTURE ON THE STATES’ RESPONSES TO COVID-19 AND THE EXPERIENCE IN ETHIOPIA
Get PDFNigeria discovered her index case of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) in March 2020. Despite the remarkable multiple institutional designs, constitutional and statutory provisions, intense conflicts, and endemic disunity, the systemic struggle for dominance in the fight against COVID-19 continues unabated. This often leads to the pessimistic conclusion that the conflicts will continue to have negative impacts on the fight against COVID-19. Using a doctrinal method, this paper acknowledges complementary effects of political culture and leadership on conflicts, but argues that a deficiency in constitutional and legal architecture generally and institutional designs of the Federal structure largely contributed to the conflicts, improper coordination, and disunity in the fight against COVID-19 by the government in Nigeria. This was juxtaposed with examining the experience in the federal structure of Ethiopia. The paper concludes that a properly coordinated Federal structure in Nigeria has the propensity to fight the coronavirus or other such future epidemics. With renewed vigour for the alteration of the Constitution, effective constitutionalisation of the objectives of federalism in the Constitution is an alternative to the present legal order. This paper focuses on these constitutional and institutional deficiencies and suggests the needed reforms in these spheres
JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE AND THE PROTECTION AND ENFORCEMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN FEDERAL COURTS IN ETHIOPIA: THE NEED TO WALK THE CONSTITUTIONAL TALK
Get PDFThis article examines the role of the Ethiopian federal judiciary in the protection and enforcement of human rights from the perspective of judicial independence. Specifically, it examines the interplay between judicial independence and the protection of human rights and the implications of the manifestations of institutional and personal independence of the judiciary on the role of courts in the enforcement and protection of human rights. The article mainly uses the relevant literature, the relevant laws (domestic legislation, treaties, and international jurisprudence), concluding observations and recommendations of different human rights monitoring bodies, recommendations of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, internationally and regionally accepted legal principles, standards, and guidelines, different documents, and empirical data collected through interviews and focus group discussions as sources of data. The interviews and focus group discussions involved federal court judges, public prosecutors, and attorneys. A thorough examination of the law and the collected and analyzed data reveals that the institutional and personal independence of the federal judiciary is not protected in law and practice. As a result, federal courts cannot play a significant role in theadjudication and enforcement of human rights in Ethiopia. 
A Wood Density Variation Among Dominant Tree Species of Comberetum-Terminalia Woodland in Northwest Dryforests of Ethiopia
No full textWood density is among the key variables in biomass and carbon stock estimation models.Hence, better understanding of wood density variations within and between species iscritical for enhancement of forest biomass and carbon flux estimating models. This studyexamine the inter and intra species wood density (ρ) variations to reduce sources ofuncertainty in biomass estimations of Combretum-Terminalia woodlands of NorthwestEthiopia. For the determination of stem and branch densities, destructive sampling of 101trees of the selected nine dominant tree species were taken. Three diameters at breastheight and branch diameter classes (5–10, 11–15, and > 16 cm) represented treepopulation between 5 and 65 cm. The mean ρ of the studied tree species ranges from 0.308to 0.612g cm-3 . While the branch and stem wood density of mixed‒species was estimatedat 0.498 and 0.509g cm-3, respectively. Despite the absence of general trends within a tree,ρ decreased with stem height and branch thickness. Statistically significant variation in ρwas observed among the selected tree species signifying the need for applying speciesspecific ρ in biomass models. The stem had higher ρ than the branch suggesting ρ derivedfrom the branch with a diameter of 11‒15 cm explained 92.3% variability of stem ρ. Somewood densities adopted to our dataset overestimated the biomass of mixed‒species, by27.5 to 33.6%. However, the best ρ based on averaging technique can be reliable to assessbiomass and carbon stock dynamics Combretum-Terminalia woodlands and comparablevegetation formation with considering validation. Yet applying species specific ρ isrecommended for accurate biomass estimation models given the significant inter-speciesvariation
AN APPRAISAL OF THE LEGAL IMPACTS OF COVID-19 ON THE ALMAJIRI CHILDREN IN THE NORTHERN PART OF NIGERIA
Get PDFThis paper examined the legal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Almajiri children in the Northern part of Nigeria, with consideration of the current serious socio-economic and political challenges ravaging the peaceful existence of the region. The varying threats of insurgency, banditry, cattle rustling, ethno-religious crisis, and kidnapping that have substantially wrecked the Northern part of Nigeria in recent times make the Almajiri children a soft target to this novel pandemic. Factors such as overpopulation, paucity of funds, inadequate human andmaterial resources, and large-scale widespread ignorance in the region predispose Almajiri children to the devastating impact of COVID-19 regulations. It was observed that the current structural formation of the Almajiri system, which has blown out of proportion across the Northern states in Nigeria, is a serious concern that requires meticulous planning and a viable mechanism to avert a devastating catastrophe in the region. This paper is analytical and based on the survey of relevant available literature and verifiable reports. This paper thus asserts that the current overwhelming socio-economic and political quagmire in which the Northern part of Nigeria has degenerated makes the Almajiri children negatively affected by the COVID-19 regulations. This paper finally concludes that the cross-repatriation of the Almajiri children to their respective states of origin is not only a breach of their Constitutional rights as citizens of Nigeria but also an ill-conceived approach anathema to the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy
THE GRAND ETHIOPIAN RENAISSANCE DAM –– FILLING AND ANNUAL OPERATION: ISSUES OF LEGALITY AND EQUITABILITY
Get PDFThe Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) first stage filling that retained 18.5 BCM of water of the Blue Nile River in a year's filling plan of 2020 and 2021 has escalated disputes among riparians of the Blue Nile sub-Basin, especially between Ethiopia and Egypt. The dispute attracted international attention owing to Egypt’s hegemonic tactics in securitizing the issue by referring it to the UN Security Council (UNSC). Egypt disparages the filling as ‘unilateral’ and detrimental to its survival, while Ethiopia firmly stands on realizing equitable and reasonable utilization of its chief river via the GERD filling. Therefore, the main objective of this article is to analyze the legality and equitability of the GERD filling and annual operation in the milieu of the international water law regime as well as the Declaration of Principles on the GERD (DoP). It also interrogates the validity of accusations and claims of downstream states in their submissions to the UNSC, especially Egypt’s, against the filling from the perspectives of the international water law regime. In doing so, the article argues that the GERD’s filling and operation are clear reflections of Ethiopia’s recognized and undeniable right to equitable and reasonable utilization in the Nile River Basin. In this regard, the article also argues that Egypt’s past unilateral water developments that established its existing uses in the Nile and its current antagonistic position against the GERD at its filling and successive operational stages are construed as acts causing significant harm to Ethiopia’s right to equitably use the Nile. Further, as a concluding remark, the article forwards suggestions for policymakers and negotiators to consider in the way forward to galvanize Ethiopia’s interest in the GERD and beyond in future GERD negotiations
RE-THINKING IMPRISONMENT AS AN APPROACH TO SENTENCING UNDER THE NIGERIAN AND ETHIOPIAN SYSTEMS: LESSONS FROM THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Get PDFThe imprisonment of offenders in prisons or correctional centres as an approach to punishment in the criminal justice system, especially for petty or minor offences, has been questioned across the world with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which calls for social distancing. The questions revolve around the sustainability of imprisonment as a preventive/deterrent approach in view of the fact that prisons or correctional centres havebecome hubs of infections. This is largely due to the fact that in most African countries, there is a high level of congestion, inadequate institutional facilities/services and failure of the courts to effectively discharge their functions. In Nigeria and Ethiopia, for example, there are regulatory frameworks which encourage the use of community service sentencing and compulsory labour as alternative approaches to imprisonment. However, the extent of enforcement, effectiveness and adequacy of these regulatory frameworks in Nigeria and Ethiopia largely remain questionable. Using doctrinal and non-doctrinal methods, this paper critically investigates the effectiveness, adequacy and level of enforcement of community service sentencing and compulsory labour as alternative approaches to imprisonment in both jurisdictions with a view to exposing the flaws in both criminal justice regimes. This is inspired by the widely established flaws of imprisonment as a sentencing approach because of increasing global pandemics such as COVID-19. This paper reveals that the current state of the criminal justice system in Nigeria and Ethiopia is ineffective. The findings show that imprisonment, adopted as a major approach to punishment and sentencing, has not in any way reduced the rate of crimes. This imprisonment approach has also been revealed to be nonviable as the same cannot be sustained in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The overallrecommendations are calls for strengthening the community service sentencing in Nigeria and reform of the Ethiopian Criminal Code to include community service sentencing as a noncustodial measure in reducing prison congestion during outbreaks of infectious diseases, such as the COVID-19 pandemic