INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study It is generally known and accepted that children need special care and protection and are dependent upon the aid and assistance of adults, especially in the early years of their existence.1 In their early years, children depend on adults for their feeding, clothing, and indeed all other aspect of their existence. Under International Human Rights Law, children are considered to be among the vulnerable group and therefore are disadvantaged and needs to be protected by the law. Thus there is no questioning the fact that children constitute the most vulnerable and powerless members of the society. However, the concept that children have specific rights deserving of enforcement and protection is a comparatively modern development. The popular assumption in times past was that most adults and parents in particular, had the best interests of the child at heart, there was thus no necessity to think in terms of children‘s right.2 Recognition of children‘s rights grew out of the wider crusade for human rights, specifically those of women. Indeed, perceptions of the two groups were largely similar. In the 18th century, for example, both women and children were generally regarded as a form of property.3 The United Nations Children‘s Fund (UNICEF) is a Specialised Agency of the United Nation, devoted to the health and welfare of children. UNICEF is headquartered in New York and works with children in over 158 countries.4 UNICEF originally began as a response to the right of children in the aftermath of World War II. Its mandate gradually broadened to include ongoing support for children in all parts of the world. Currently UNICEF is the leading advocate for children‘s rights, and works to overcome violence and discrimination against children. Nigeria was one of the very first African countries where the United Nations Children‘s Fund (UNICEF) established a programme of cooperation. UNICEF‘s work for the survival, protection and development of Nigerian children has continued ever since. Today, UNICEF is still working in partnership with many stakeholders including children and families to achieve national and international goals instrumental in the fulfilment of children‘s right.5