The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a British child protection charity.
"Adam" was the name police gave to an unidentified male child whose torso was discovered in the River Thames in London, United Kingdom, on 21 September 2001. Investigators believe the child was likely from southwestern Nigeria, and that several days before his murder, he was trafficked to the United Kingdom for a muti ritual sacrifice. To date, nobody has been charged with Adam's murder, and his true identity remains unknown.
Trafficking of children is a form of human trafficking and is defined by the United Nations as the "recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, and/or receipt" kidnapping of a child for the purpose of slavery, forced labour, and exploitation. This definition is substantially wider than the same document's definition of "trafficking in persons". Children may also be trafficked for adoption.
Child abuse is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to act by a parent or a caregiver that results in actual or potential harm to a child and can occur in a child's home, or in the organizations, schools, or communities the child interacts with.
Child protection is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. It involves identifying signs of potential harm, responding to allegations or suspicions of abuse, providing support and services to protect children, and holding those who have harmed them accountable.
Human rights in Nigeria are protected under the current constitution of 1999. While Nigeria has made major improvements in human rights under this constitution, the American Human Rights Report of 2012 notes several areas where more improvement is needed, which includes: abuses by Boko Haram, killings by government forces, lack of social equality and issues with freedom of speech. The Human Rights Watch's 2015 World Report states that intensified violence by Boko Haram, restrictions of LGBTIQ rights and government corruption continue to undermine the status of human rights in Nigeria.
Children have been accused of witchcraft, both historically and in contemporary times, in societies that harbour beliefs about the existence of witches and black magic. These accusations have led to punishment, imprisonment, torture, and execution of children.
Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation. Human trafficking can occur within a country or trans-nationally. It is distinct from people smuggling, which is characterized by the consent of the person being smuggled.
Helen Ukpabio is the founder and head of African Evangelical franchise Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries based in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. She is widely accused of causing large-scale harassment and violence against children accused of witchcraft.
Child migration or "children in migration or mobility" is the movement of people ages 3–18 within or across political borders, with or without their parents or a legal guardian, to another country or region. They may travel with or without legal travel documents. They may arrive to the destination country as refugees, asylum seekers, or economic migrants.
Child harvesting or baby harvesting refers to the systematic sale of human children, typically for adoption by families in the developed world, but sometimes for other purposes, including trafficking. The term covers a wide variety of situations and degrees of economic, social, and physical coercion. Child harvesting programs or the locations at which they take place are sometimes referred to as baby factories or baby farms.
The human-rights situation in Benin is considered to be generally above average for sub-Saharan Africa.
Transnational efforts to prevent human trafficking are being made to prevent human trafficking in specific countries and around the world.
Witchcraft accusations against children in Africa have received increasing international attention in the first decade of the 21st century.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, "the practice of ritual killing and human sacrifice continues to take place ... in contravention of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and other human rights instruments." In the 21st century, such practices have been reported in Nigeria, Uganda, Swaziland, Liberia, Tanzania, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, as well as Mozambique, and Mali.
Leo Igwe is a Nigerian human rights advocate and humanist. Igwe is a former Western and Southern African representative of the International Humanist and Ethical Union, and has specialized in campaigning against and documenting the impacts of child witchcraft accusations. He holds a Ph.D from the Bayreuth International School of African Studies at the University of Bayreuth in Germany, having earned a graduate degree in philosophy from the University of Calabar in Nigeria. Igwe's human rights advocacy has brought him into conflict with high-profile witchcraft believers, such as Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries, because of his criticism of what he describes as their role in the violence and child abandonment that sometimes result from accusations of witchcraft.
Witch-hunts are practiced today throughout the world. While prevalent world-wide, hot-spots of current witch-hunting are India, Papua New Guinea, Amazonia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Body counts of modern witch-hunts exceed those of early-modern witch-hunting.
Children and Families Across Borders (CFAB) is a national charity founded in 1955 that provides advice in resolving international child protection cases.
Network Against Trafficking, Abuse and Labour (NACTAL) is an umbrella organisation of Nigerian non-governmental organizations engaged in advocacy and campaign for children's rights, anti-human trafficking, human rights abuse and child labour with some 220 member organizations in the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory.
