Mozambiques Legal Framework for the Rights of the Child

In the Republic of Mozambique children under the age of 14 represented an overwhelming 45.3 per cent of the population in 2015. In 2004 the Government of Mozambique made advancements toward protecting the rights of children through guaranteeing their security in the 2004 Constitution of Mozambique. The new Mozambican Constitution specifies the rights of children to receive protection and care and upholds the responsibility of society, family and State in order to guarantee the rights of boys and girls.

Article 47 of the 2004 Constitution of Mozambique states that “Children shall have the right to protection and the care required for their well being”. Article 121 further states that “all children have the right to protection [provided by] the family, society and the State … and in particular orphans and disabled and abandoned children, shall be protected by the family, by society and by the State against all forms of discrimination, ill treatment and the abusive use of authority within the family and in other institutions“. These constitutional provisions allowed for legislative milestones in 2007, through the Social Protection Law (4/2007), which establishes the foundations for the organization of the social protection system at three levels, including basic, obligatory and complementary social security. The National Strategy for Basic Social Security adopted in April 2010 aims to promote an integrated approach to social protection and makes specific provisions for social transfers and education as a core component of national social security.

The drafting of the current constitution was conducted through a participatory process, which began in 1998, including national seminars and public debates, before its final adoption in 2004 by a multi-party democratically elected Parliament. Constitutional provisions, and resulting legal framework guaranteeing the rights of children and their basic income security, illustrate steps toward increased social protection in Mozambique. Through this process the Government of Mozambique has shown political will to uphold equality and ensure that constitutional and legal provisions for income security form strong legal foundations for a national social protection floor.