Children’s Right to Play and Social Protection Under the UNCRC: Implementation and Contestations in West Africa

Ogunniyi, Daniel; Ifedayo Idowu, Oladimeji

Abstract

Although the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) embodies an integrated approach to children’s rights, an isolationist approach is dominant in many countries. The isolationist view, a strategic approach often adopted in poorer countries, prioritises certain rights over others. Selective implementation of rights, however, has enormous implications for the full realisation of rights contained in the UNCRC. This chapter interrogates the extent of implementation of two UNCRC rights in selected West African states: the right to play under Article 31 and the right to social protection under Articles 26 and 27. Although the two rights are largely autonomous, they also intersect in many ways. The chapter questions the extent of integration, isolation, and implementation of these rights and how the scarcity of economic resources often shapes the perception of children’s right to play in West Africa. Further, the chapter reviews relevant legal and policy instruments at the national level in West Africa to understand the extent to which the right to play and social protection feature in national child protection strategies. Also, as budgetary allocation might reflect the priority given to the two rights, the chapter assesses whether these rights are given any recognition in national budgets, relative to other rights. The specific challenges to integration and the recognition of children’s right to play are also discussed. As the West African region is composed of 15 multilingual states, only the three anglophone countries in the region are studied in detail. Thus, the study mainly focuses on Nigeria, Ghana, and Liberia. The study offers specific recommendations to achieve increased realisation of children’s rights in West Africa.

Citation

Ogunniyi, D., & Ifedayo Idowu, O. (2025). Children’s Right to Play and Social Protection Under the UNCRC: Implementation and Contestations in West Africa. In N. Lott (Ed.), The Interdependence of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Understanding the Relationship of the Right to Play with other Convention Rights (155-175). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-88964-6_7

• Online Publication Date: Jul 2, 2025
• Publication Date: Jul 2, 2025
• Deposit Date: Jul 9, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 3, 2026
• Publisher: Springer
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 155-175
• Book Title: The Interdependence of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Understanding the Relationship of the Right to Play with other Convention Rights
• Chapter Number: 6
• ISBN: 9783031889639
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-88964-6_7
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/5285031
• Additional Information: First Online: 2 July 2025