Ethics

Wal-Mart is not just a mega corporation who needs no introduction its a privately controlled economic institution which has managed to impact prices, wages, and economies on a local as well as global scale. Its because of the huge scale on which it operates, its able to command the movement in the market. It works by lowering down the prices of commodities it sells, thereby making the consumers flock to its stores instead of any other store, by shaping there shopping habits, and by driving down the prices of other retailers as well who in order to remain existent in the market have to follow this southward trend else they will have to leave the domain. It has always had a close and tight scrutiny on all the costs involved, whether it be the wages of its employees or deals with its suppliers. The flip side is the unrelenting pressure on its suppliers, low wages, and compromise on quality of products and off shoring of jobs.

The moral questions raised are that does Wal-Mart actually brings jobs to the market it has entered or does it actually lead to loss of jobs due to the other retailers which shut down post the Wal-Mart effect in that region. Though Wal-Mart brings commercial prosperity and business in the region that it opens but inadvertently and unconsciously it also leads to shutdown of various businesses which are not able to survive in front of such a big player who has created monopoly in the market. But its true for every other big established player, if it offers a better proposition to the customers then obviously they will flock to them and not competition.

Thats market dynamics, and its not foul play if a store like Wal-Mart is giving such strong value based propositions to its customers. Wal-Mart being such a big player, the suppliers cant afford to lose it, so they have to go by the terms that Wal-Mart sets. Its not unethical if an organization has grown to that level where it governs the dynamics around it, be it the sourcing price from its suppliers or the price it offers to the end consumers. Its only because of the faith that the customers and the society have reinforced in Wal-Mart that its able to grow to this extent and scale. We the people have allowed it to become mammoth and now we are the ones who are questioning whether this scale is morally acceptable or not. In its pursuit to give the lowest possible prices to the customer, Wal-Mart at times kills that product for every other competitor, but its an open market and even the other stores are free to reduce or increase their price to suit their needs. But the fact of the matter is that due to its scale of operations Wal-Mart can afford to squeeze out the best deals from all ends and hence can shift that benefit to customers as well by giving away low priced goods which probably other retailers fail to do it to such extent. And hence as a result customers flock to Wal-Mart for those products and eventually it hurts the competitors who carry the same products.

Wal-Mart successfully leads to increase in the purchasing power of the consumers and hence boosts economy. So its hard find out if the increase in buying behavior due to reduction in prices offsets the reduction in jobs and wages that happens when Wal-Mart operates in any geography. Wal-Mart has created an ecosystem around it which is very powerful and its we the customers who feed the ecosystem. Its quite possible that in order to offer such low prices, Wal-Mart would have at time compromised on quality, but if it would have been so questionable then why would have customers still bought from it and continued with repeat purchases. It might be very easy to fool people in a region for a while, but its not easy to fool everyone everywhere at all times. We accept the way Wal-Mart has been providing services to us and thats the reason its forever growing. Though it needs to be more open in its information sharing with the industry and also improve upon the benefits that it provides to its employees.

To cite an example of another similar retailer Costco, it has focused on quality and yet has been able to provide lower price to its customers. Its intriguing to know how it has done it. It has paid its employees much above industry standards, provided them with facilities which are more than expected and all of this has led to higher productivity, more ownership for the company and less employee exits in the long run. Though this has not been the most beneficial for the shareholders but it has brought Costco profit and loyalty in the long run. Costco has a limited assortment in a product category which enables it to buy deep into few variants of that product thus enabling it to squeeze better margins from the suppliers. Whereas Wal-Mart offers huge range of products in the same product category. That doesnt imply that either of them is wrong or right, its just that these are two different business models.

Male dominance was established into the social system of some ethnic groups and women played a significant role in their society. For some philosophers and scholars, this was due to the complementarity of male and female roles and functions. Complementarity gave women a great deal of autonomy in their own affairs. Discrimination based on both class and gender existed. One example of inequality was the deprivation of education of the less high-born Muslim women in the pre-colonial period.  It is likely that most women were given only the most limited of Muslim education. Indeed, the issue of access to education or of opportunity for continued education probably rarely arose. Thus, historically, gender and class were prime determinants in limiting womens educational opportunities.

Women have historically been excluded from participation in many professions. During the 1800s, women were deprived of rights and freedom. Women could not own property, could not vote, and had no means to earn any degree. Most occupations were closed to women. But then in 1962, President Kennedy created the Presidents Commission on the Status of Women, chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt. It was established to study the status of women in all areas of their lives and recommend changes to help women achieve their basic rights and freedom. So from then on, certain rights and privileges were rendered for women empowerment and equality.

Comparing the historical discrimination to todays generation, it is evident that a big difference exists. Racism seems to be more dominant than a gender-bias form of discrimination.  Most of us see racism as a political terminology, something that was derived from the era of slavery. Though we seem to be more open minded and liberal now compared to the 1960s, racial biases and intolerance still exist. Racism still exists in America today, but there is much dispute over how pervasive and influential it is. High rates of poverty and unemployment among blacks serve as a very strong evidence that racism is still very powerful. Since the inherent abilities of different races are equal, it is argued that large differences in outcome are most plausibly explained by persistent racism. Others claim that these statistics are not the result of racism against blacks, but are the result of other factors, such as high crime rates in the inner cities, low standards in public schools, the illegal drug trade, and urban cultural decay, all of which disproportionately affect blacks who are concentrated in urban areas for historical reasons. Genetic racists see the same data as evidence of racial inferiority rather than discrimination.

On the other hand, some inequalities exist in the workplace. Women are not equally represented in the fields of science, mathematics and technology. The statistics show that women comprise nearly half of the workforce, but only 16 work in engineering or science. The workforce increasingly requires mathematical, scientific and technological proficiency, but women and minorities have not traditionally been attracted to these areas. Research suggests that girls and women are systematically discouraged from courses of study in higher level mathematics and science, which ultimately prevents them from pursuing careers in science, engineering and mathematics (Jeffrey Weld highlights, p. 104). Jeffrey Weld highlights that women are outnumbered by their male coworkers nearly 6 to 1 as scientists and engineers (1997).

For me, it can be very complicated and nerve cracking for a woman to go to work everyday realizing that there is gender bias going on. This is a very unfair situation and it can lead to a lot of emotional heartache and psychological problems. Many times, I feel that I am on the verge of giving up and quiting my job because of it. There is nothing worse than going to work and not feeling appreciated and my efforts are not recognized or acknowledged.

Some of the culturally sensitive resolutions suggested were the adaptation of attitudes and behaviors that reflect fairness and cooperation, promotion of policies to establish and maintain racial, cultural, and linguistic diversity and development of programs for all designed to promote self-respect and respect to others regardless of their race, capability and gender. I personally agree to the resolutions stated. This could definitely help eradicate discrimination globally.

Lessons learned from engaging in the module
My knowledge, specifically on research method, improved after studying the module.  I actually did not have any idea on how to prepare a research proposal before but with the help of the module, I now have a better understanding about research proposals.

The module covered many aspects such as information ethics and research information systems. Furthermore, it developed in us skills such as how we can find out useful resources to support our research, how we specify appropriate paradigm, how we can make research plans, and how we identify suitable methodologies. All these were very helpful and beneficial for us.  Likewise, I found a lot of relevant information from the (1) Handbook of Computer and Information Ethics and Qates and (2) Researching Information Systems and Computing which I find very useful.

In addition, the staffs were fantastic and very accommodating especially Jehad.  They always support and help us through all the difficulties we have encountered. I would like to thank them for everything.

Critical evaluation of won contribution to the discussion (online and face to face)

I studied this module online. I had to login to the Discussion Board everyday for about 40 minutes and read some chapters which are available in Learning Materials.  After carefully studying and analyzing the materials available, I have to ask the author some questions which are related to the text,  background assumptions, practical and professional implications, social and ethical consequences , or research implications.

I put on the weekly readings many contributions all of them were related to the module. Aside from that, we also have activities on Online Delivery which contain discussion about ethical case studies and the nature of research. I enjoyed reading the case studies because they focus on ethical issues in many organizations.  I have written some comments to identify the stakeholders, ethical issues, my point of view, and a brief debate.

Of all the materials, I find Chapter 19 and 20 of Qates (2005) very interesting. It describes the Philosophical Paradigms to justify my choice of research paradigm for my research. Lastly, the module required us to specify on the Discussion Board the following project title, project paradigms, project bibliography, and project methodologies for our project proposal. I have posted all of them and I have received some comments from other students. Likewise, I have also written some comments for other students work.  

Conclusion
To sum up, this module has given us full understanding of ethical issues and professional issues with an overview of research approaches and methodologies. Definitely, this module has increased our knowledge through the contributions and reading materials which provided important information related to Research, Ethical, and Professionalism in Computing. I mentioned in the reflective piece all the advantages, my evaluation of this module, and the reflection in the project proposal. However, I think the following needs attention

1. We didnt receive feedback about our contributions.
2. We dont know exactly how many contributions we have done on the   Discussion Board.
3. The quality of checking the chapters was very poor.  I hope to find a useful method to solve this problem in the future.
4. You didnt give us previous examples for project proposal to help us in preparing this project.
5. From my point of view, there is no need for a face to face class.  You can just increase the Online classroom from once to preferably three times each week.

Ethics is a way of considering the reality of humanity and the universe in regard to a perception of what is right and what is wrong.  Human beings are in constant interaction with their environments, with their surroundings, other people, and the dynamics of the entire world.  In aiming to figure out the best way to comprehend and figure out the meaning of ethics, there are basically two branches of ethical perception, virtue based ethics and action based ethics.  Virtue based ethics is rooted in the character of the person, personally sprung considerations of what is right and wrong in the world.  This kind of ethical perception is contextual or relational, meaning that there may be different perceptions of what is prudent in various situations.  Action based ethics is rooted in overarching social rules, fixed and concrete perceptions of what is right and wrong in the world.  This kind of ethical perception is absolute, meaning that there is one prescribed action to be taken in a certain situation.  In considering the two varying kinds of ethical modalities, it is clear that virtue based ethics surpasses action based ethics as a way of perceiving what is right and wrong.

Virtue Based Ethics
Virtue based ethics is something innate, like an internal radar for determining right from wrong.  This radar is constantly active and is perfectly capable of determining of making decisions about ethical beliefs and judgments.  Virtue based ethics springs from the conscience of the person making decisions about how to operate in the world in accordance with the varying circumstances of the moment.  With virtue based ethics, there is no external prescription which advises a person what to do in various situations.  There is no static formula stating what should be done in order accomplish a goal in an ethical manner.  Virtue based ethics is above the laws written by humans, transcends human law.  Here, there is no reliance on dictates from a governing body, and the person is completely reliant on ones own capacity for being able to discern the circumstances of the moment and make decisions about what the best and most ethical path to take.

Action Based Ethics
Action based ethics are rooted in absolutism and place faith in the capacity for humans to make overarching determinations of right from wrong.  These determinations often come from social discussions about the correct prescription for human law, and action based ethics entrusts that ethical determinations can be placed in the hands of an external judge.  In this modality, judgments can be prearranged before considering the case, as ethical dilemmas are considered to be grouped as similar in a variety of ways.  Action based ethics involves the active involvement of government and society in determining static definitions of what is ethical in an array of situations.  The problem with action based ethics is that is leaves little room for the contextual and relational variety of the moment and takes decision making power away from the individual and places it in the hands of the government.  Action based ethics makes the invalid assumption that certain ethical cases can all be considered according to one prescription and that the government has the authority to overstep the decision making capacity of the individual.  These two factors, government control and social lawmaking, take power away from the individual to utilize the personal virtue based radar in decision making.

Superiority of Virtue
It is obvious that virtue based ethics is the superior method for evaluating situations in regard to ethics.  Individuals should not be stripped of their personal capacity to assess themselves in response to their environments.  For example, financial child support is often determined by a court system, a prescribed amount of money is mandated by the government to be paid to the custodial parent.  In a perfect world, the situation would be left for the parents themselves to determine.  They would be forced to communicate with one another and figure out the solutions for themselves and their children.  When the government steps in, the natural capacity for individuals to assess their own situations in relation to themselves and others is crippled by the prescribed laws of society.  There is no excuse for the government taking away the right of individuals to make their own decisions, and this kind of justice is a product of action based ethics.

Conclusion
There are two basic ways in which to view the world through ethical lenses, virtue based and action based, and virtue based activity is the natural response to ethical dilemmas.  Some people argue for the need for action based ethical ideology, claiming that individuals should not be allowed to make ethical misjudgments which could harm other members of society.  They claim that governments are formed and laws are passed in order to control the members of society who are not rational enough to make good and ethical decisions.  However, this claim is not weighty enough to strip away the natural capacity for humans to self govern.  It should be up to each and every person to make personal decisions in accordance with ones own radar for ethical truth, in conjunction with the varying circumstances in which one lives.  Society should be able to function without mandating that external laws be imposed upon individuals.

Utilitarianism is the most well-known consequentiality theory of ethics. The most prominent advocates of utilitarianism are John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) and  HYPERLINK httpen.wikipedia.orgwikiJeremy_Bentham o Jeremy Bentham Jeremy Bentham (1748 - 1832). The guiding principle of utilitarianism is the assumption that eventual goal of all human activity is happiness. Experience is the determinant of concept of right and wrong in utilitarianism.

Two types of Utilitarian ethics are 1) Act Utilitarianism and 2) Rule Utilitarianism. A Utilitarians definition of good is whatever provides the greatest total happiness. By this definition, the right action in any case can be calculated by determining the probable consequences of each course of action. The action most likely to bring about the most happiness, or cause the least unhappiness, is the right action in each case. Utilitarianism deals with probable consequences because it is usually complex, if not impossible, to establish the accurate results of any particular action.

Rule Utilitarianism questions the assumption of act utilitarianism that all good is equal. The common practice of throwing Christians to lions for entertainment of crowds of thousands in Ancient Rome is cited as an example. Act Utilitarianism would assign higher weight to pleasure of thousands over suffering of few Christians, thus declaring that practice moral. Since momentary pleasure of the Romans cannot possibly equal the pain of loss of life, Rule utilitarianism concludes that all good or values cannot be equal.

The difficulties arising from putting Utilitarianism into practice include the measurement of happiness. Who is to decide whether or not the pleasure experienced by a sadist outweighs the victims suffering Also, act utilitarianism can justify many actions that are usually thought immoral. For example, publicly hanging someone would deter crime and thus provide happiness, but one must question the morality of such an action.

Virtue Theory
Virtue Theory is base on Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics and is therefore also referred to as neo-Aristotelianism. Unlike utilitarians who focus on rightness and wrongness of each action, virtue theorists concentrate on character and are concerned about individuals life as a whole. Their fundamental question is, How should I live they answer this question as, cultivate the virtues in order to flourish as a human being.

Aristotle believed that everyone wants to flourish, or accomplish eudaimonia. Eudaimonia has application in whole life, not just in particular states one might find himself in from time to time. According to Aristotle, certain ways of living facilitate human flourishing, just as certain ways of tending a tree will lead it to blossom.

A virtue for Aristotle is an inclination to act desire and feel in particular ways in appropriate situations. It is a quality of an exemplary person, worthy of imitation. One can gain virtuous characteristics with knowledge and experience. As per virtue theorists, virtues such as generosity and courage are needed by any human being to live well. For Aristotle, the virtuous individual is someone who has harmonized all the virtues and can be a role model. The source of virtue is rationality, the ability to reason, which is uniquely human.

A difficulty with this theory is to decide which behavior, desire and feelings are to count as virtues. On which ground something gets a designation of virtue, is unclear. If a virtue theorist decides to accept only those ways of behaving, which are commonly considered virtuous in a particular society, as virtues, then there is little chance of changing that society on moral grounds1.

Analysis of case Poverty and Pollution using Utilitarian Approach
Brazils valley of death is believed to be the most polluted place on earth. The primary and most important stakeholders in the state of environment of that valley are undoubtedly the inhabitants of the area. All other stakeholders, including the government, industrialists, economists and environmentalists have secondary importance and therefore must have lesser influence in the fate of the valley. Utilitarian approach ignores this distinction and bases its calculation solely on the principle of greatest happiness. So we must give equal importance to all primary and secondary stakeholders in this analysis.

The situation offers these alternative courses of action. 1) Ignore the disastrous environmental damage and thus health hazards of inhabitants in the area and continue polluting or 2) arrange for removal of inhabitants from the area and continue to operate factories thus ignoring the pollution and environmental damage or 3) Invest in greener technologies to reduce pollution, requiring huge capital injection without much return to industrialists in tangible, cash terms.

In the first scenario, we know that the inhabitants are not concerned by their health vulnerability and actually advocate the presence of polluting industry for the sake of sustaining income. This may be due to lack of awareness about the conditions they are surviving under. So, their happiness will be caused by the continuation of industry, although this happiness is not synonymous to actual betterment. This scenario satisfies the need of industrialists and economists too, leaving only the environmentalists and to a lesser degree government in an unhappy state.

The second alternative will cause betterment of inhabitants, but will not cause them to be happy. Although a rational alternative, utilitarianism fails to choose this option solely because it has no appeal in terms of happiness. Inhabitants will have job concerns industrialists will lose easily accessible labor, and environmentalists will continue to criticize pollution.

The third alternative will only cause happiness to environmentalists, with industrialists being very unhappy at investing in technologies that have no tangible return to them. Inhabitants will be better off, but their happiness is questionable.

A utilitarian will therefore advocate letting the state of affairs stay as they are. Generalizing this assesment, we must conclude that in a utilitarian perspective, through moving the polluting industries to third world countries in areas where inhabitants are only concerned about wages and employment, we can cause most happiness. This approach only leaves environmentalists unhappy, developed populations will get their cleaner environment, with pollution moving to populations that prefer other basic needs.

Analysis of case Poverty and Pollution using Virtue Theory
Virtue theorist will not place his argument based on right or wrong course of action in this situation. Neither will he consider the consequences of alternative courses of actions on the stakeholders. A virtue theorist will base his argument on the values of human society and determine the value appearing to be the most virtuous will be preferred. In this case, which human virtues and goals are colliding Here the virtues of pursuit of progress, development, a healthy and rewarding human body, and the clean environment we live in are at stake.

Progress is the fundamental goal of all human endeavors. It requires compromises and sometimes sacrifices of other desires. These sacrifices include the luxury of spending time doing things we enjoy rather then working regularly to make our lives better. Progress also demands utilization of natural resources to convert them into useful products, thus taking from Mother Nature. The cost of giving back to Mother Nature in order to sustain development and progress must be evaluated against the cost of depleting resources. Similarly, finding alternatives to polluting industries has the potential to slow down our pace of progress, and sometimes the alternatives to pollution that we find do not justify the sheer costs of implementing them.

The argument is further compounded by the fact that the developed nations have polluted the environment for decades without much consideration to the harmful affects. Now that we understand the damage we have caused, is it fair to ask still developing nations to sacrifice their progress pace so that the world can address the damages to the environment that are mainly the responsibility of developed, not developing nations.

The virtue theorist must therefore find a balance between progress and the value of human health. To him, it is immoral to let poor populations suffer damages caused by pollution. If alternatives exist, they must be explored. A virtue theorist cannot place different values on different human lives as the economist Lawrence Summers so crudely does.

We are informed in the update to the case that due to aroused population and government support, pollution was successfully brought down to acceptable levels. This is more in line with the standpoint of a virtue theorist who will advocate rational steps to be taken for the most virtuous scenario to prevail. Therefore, in this case, a harmonious balance between the virtues of progress, environmental care, and healthy life was successfully achieved in the end.

The main premises that John Hardwig relies upon to reachthe conclusion that in certain circumstances, people have a duty to die, evenwhen they may prefer to live. The critical responses and the most convincing critique.

John (1983, n.pag) says that in certain circumstances, people have a duty to die, even when they may prefer to live. He says that those with burdensome illnesses, dependencies, or medical conditions have a duty to die perhaps because ill, dependent, or aged individuals can impose unfair burdens upon others by continuing to live.

The argument is that this statement that we have a duty to die especially to the elderly shows that the government does not have a good financial plan for long term care of the elderly persons when they are no longer able to work for their own living forcing others to take care of them.  This means that the elderly should terminate their lives and that those who are approaching the old age of dependence should work out a plan that will bring them to quick death before the time. It means that an old person is interfering with careers of others who are still very active in this life. It could also mean that it is time for the little or available funds to be channeled to the young and the children.

I view this as a letter of suicide addressing the issue to the rest of remaining persons why I, an elderly person, has chosen to take his life.

More specifically, in situations where a duty to die exists, an individuals having a duty to die logically implies that those she burdens have a right to kill that individual in self-defense. I then suggest that the burdens that ill, dependent, or aged individuals impose on their families, loved ones, or caregivers do not constitute the kind of threat that warrants the latter killing the former in self-defense. Hence, the duty to die is much rarer than Hardwig supposes.

John argues that we are under the spell of two Cartesian legacies motives, interests, beliefs, desires, and attitudes which are mental states. He continues to state that mental states exist in a consciousness, and that each and every one of us knows her own beliefs, values, feelings, and many more. There is a problem of knowing another persons mind even though we ourselves understand our own minds. We may know our consciousness but not that of another.

The motive for living is to enjoy the life you have and by implying that when you are elderly you have come to the end is wrong because this person has a motive for each and every day of their life. The mental interference to our behaviour including the verbal ones creates a mental state that is very precarious. You may not believe but someone who is ill and old may believe that tomorrow heshe will be very much healthy and maybe stronger to handle some tasks. There was a report that the former president of Kenya Mzee Jomo Kenyatta asks his personal doctor after receiving news that he was not very fit and based on the fact that he was growing older, it was time to look for a replacement, joked, but is there anything you cannot do to keep this body as strong I take this quote to say that even as John suggested the tasks in our lives depends on the individual how does heshe feel about this life Is it time for death now

Children together with their families continue to experience stumbling block to the enjoyment of their fundamental human rights as well as to their inclusion in society affairs. The perception of childrens rights being respected is interpreted by many as being lenient in addition to giving them a lot of control and power, while simultaneously taking away power from their parents. However, it is the mandate of each and every person to make sure that the rights of children are upheld. UNICEF is an international organization whose fundamental objective is to make sure that the rights of children are respected globally. This paper will evaluate the role played by UNICEF in the process of safeguarding childrens rights in Africa.

Introduction
Children, especially in Africa together with their families, continue to experience hurdles to the enjoyment of their fundamental human rights as well as to their inclusion in society affairs (Lawson and Bertucci, 1996). Lawson and Bertucci (1996), states that childrens capacities are not taken into account their abilities are underrated and their needs given a low priority. Smith (2008), states that the barriers that hinder African children from enjoying their basic rights are usually as a consequence of the environment in which they live. Though the situation for African children is changing, a wide gap still exists. On the positive side, global momentum has increased for the last about two decades whereby children have obtained a lot of support from governments as well as international organizations (Schwab, 1997). In some countries, local communities have joined hands to form regional and national agencies aimed at safeguarding the rights of children. As a consequence the hurdles to the participation of children as full members of their society are drastically declining (Smith, 2008). Some countries, however, have not enacted legislations aimed at protecting the rights of children this leads to an increase in violation of their rights.  Children with disabilities and their families are the one who continue facing the discriminatory side of the society (Waller, 2009).

The Past centuries have experienced unending debate concerning the rights of children. Rights are priceless commodities, which people do not have to beg to be given rather they are supposed to be given without stipulations. In Africa as stated by Smith (2008), childrens rights do not gather widespread public as well as political support. They have long been politically referred to as hot potato which instead of advancing the interests of children puts them in danger. This is a very grave state of affair that calls for intellectual investigation. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child requires that the society be educated concerning the rights of children (Kawewe and Dibie, 1999). The convention also requires that the states, which have ratified it, make the standards and provisions necessary for making its content known all over those countries to both children and adults. People who are wary of childrens rights and liberties tend to concentrate on the issue of civil as well as political rights (Lawson and Bertucci, 1996). The notion of childrens rights being respected is interpreted by many as being lenient in addition to giving them a lot of control and power, while simultaneously taking away power and control from their parents (Sloth-Nielsen, 2008). African countries should stop laying the blame on poverty for failure to enforce childrens rights, due to the fact that financial status is far from the principle considerations in childrens rights and liberties (Gordon, Nandy and Pantazis, 2003).

UNICEF and the Safeguard of Children rights- Case Study (Africa)
There is no one way to extensively evaluate and list the ways through which children across Africa and the rest of the world are mistreated physically and economically oppressed.  However, the numbers are tremendous and the suffering is great and rampant. Schwab (1997) states that very many children all over Africa are sexually abused by adults destroyed beyond their age through hard life in addition to drug abuse in the streets wounded by landmines and other explosives and turned into murderers by war and stricken with diseases they cannot recover from. All these aspects contribute to the general struggles against illnesses, hardships, and cultural traditions which compromise childrens rights and subject them to extreme emotional as well as physical suffering (Scott and Ward, 2005).

Though the sufferers of poverty and injustice have throughout history experienced troubles being heard (Harsch, 2001) Gordon, Nandy and Pantazis (2003) states that none of these have had more difficulties as compared to children. Regardless of the form of exploitation, children require support as well as safeguard from a grown-ups world that is responsible for most of the abuse (Waller, 2009). To illuminate the reality of the most devastating violations of International Human Rights Law and encourage administrations to conduct investigations to certain cases, a Special Rapporteur on child prostitution, the sale of children, and child pornography in addition to other forms of children oppressions, was established by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (United Nations, 1995). This commission was established with a main aim of gathering information and presenting it to the U.N.

The convention on the rights of children greatly assists the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) in its endeavors to accomplish its mission (Kawewe and Dibie, 1999). The convention, established on varied legal systems and cultural aspects, is a globally agreed lay down of invariable principles and standards. These fundamental principles are referred to as human rights and establish minimum entitlements that governments should uphold (UNICEF, 2008). These standards are grounded on reverence for the self-respect as well as worth of each and every person regardless of ethnic background, color, gender, religion, wealth, birth strata, age, opinions or capacity and thus are applicable to all human beings allover the world (Schwab, 1997). The terms of the convention obliges both individuals and governments not to breach the parallel rights of others. The convention on childrens rights is the first officially obligatory global tool to incorporate the extensive range of human rights. Global leaders, in 1989, decided that children were in need of a special convention due to the fact that all people under the age of 18 years need unique care and protection as compared to adults (UNICEF, 2007). The main intent of these leaders was to make the world aware that children have human rights as well (Lawson and Bertucci, 1996). The terms of the convention makes it clear that children have the right to live to develop to their maximum to safeguard from harmful circumstances, abuse and oppression and to take part fully in family and social affairs (Seidman and Anang, 1992). All rights spelled out in the convention are intrinsic to the human decorum as well as harmonious development of all children. The convention safeguards the rights of children by outlining principles in medical care, education, legal, civil and social services (Scott and Ward, 2005).

Generally children, who suffer from violation of or are denied human rights, experience poverty emanating from economic unfairness. Poverty is the most perverse nature of deprivation of childrens rights (Harsch, 2001). This is due to the fact that it makes it extremely impossible to meet the needs that are fundamental rights. As per the figures compiled by UNICEF, which is the organ of the UN that directly deals with childrens matters, there are very many countries not only in Africa, but all over the world, in which childrens conditions are far less than the standards to be projected for their levels of economic advancement (The UK Committee for UNICEF, 2010). This incorporates such measures as levels of malnutrition mortality rates for under-five proportion of children who carry on with education to higher levels in addition to low literacy levels for women (UNICEF, 2008).

In developing countries, children work in order to supplement inadequate family income or else to assist the family business. Even though they may not at all time work under the desirable conditions, a lot of them are not deliberately exploited by their families.  Hayden (2009), states that traditionally children in African families were taken as a source of labor, but UNICEF tries to beat that notion out of the minds of African adults in the modern world. The main concern in such circumstances is not whether the young people work or not, but rather whether the environments under which they work are conducive and just, and also whether they are deprived of other fundamental rights due to their work, for example the right to education right to freedom from abuse and right to proper medical care (Hayden, 2009). Numerous studies, according to UNICEF (2007), reveal that if child labor is to be brought to an end, in many developing countries, some form of economic reimbursement have to be found for their families. The conditions of children reclaimed from child labor in some countries have proved to be worse than when they were working (Hayden, 2009).

The UK Committee for UNICEF (2010) states that UNICEF has committed itself to fight for elimination of child labor in addition to the fight for childrens education. UNICEF, in conjunction with the International Labor Organization, has vowed to bring child labor to an end not only in African countries, but all over the globe (United Nations, 1995). These parties have agreed to take positive steps aimed at creating public awareness in regards to matters of child labor and education. The role played by UNICEF across Africa in its endeavors to promote childrens rights is commendable. UNICEF has financially assisted in establishment of numerous childrens projects, nutrition units, and water and sanitation projects in rural villages all over the continent. UNICEF seeks to extend its assistance to rural households in order for children to benefit from food distribution and other assistance (UNICEF, 2008).

UNICEF, along with African governments seeks to carry out and widen its work on immunization, delivery of vitamin A and de-worming services for children in countries that are most affected (UNICEF, 2008). UNICEF is increasing HIVAIDS awareness among rural communities through clearly defined programs all over the continent. In its efforts to promote efficient delivery of health services to children, UNICEF call for establishment of health centers in the rural areas, intervention packages consisting of vaccines for children, pre as well as post-natal care for pregnant women, and exclusive breastfeeding for a period not less than 6 months. The chief mission of UNICEF is to promote the protection of the rights of children, to assist satisfy their fundamental needs as well as widen their opportunities to attain their maximum potential (UNICEF, 2007).

UNICEF works in collaboration with African governments, communities, and families to promote the rights of all children (United Nations, 1995). The endeavors of UNICEF, according to UNICEF (2007), are grounded in the UN convention on childrens rights, which makes sure that each and every child has the same rights. UNICEF helps African governments to establish and equip health systems, educate health professionals, and provide foodstuff and clean water so as to guarantee the health of all children (UNICEF, 2007). Through distribution of vaccines UNICEF safeguards the lives of millions of African children against death from avoidable illnesses. UNICEF also helps governments train tutors, establish schools and equip them so that all children can get quality education (UNICEF, 2008). UNICEF also helps families and communities take care of children and shelter them from exploitation and oppression, thereby fulfilling their right to a childhood (UNICEF, 2007). UNICEF works together with partners to ensure that all children have equal opportunities to participate in sports and play. UNICEF aims at involving all children at all levels of decision making thereby upholding there right to be heard. UNICEF (2008), states that through working at the highest level of the administration as well as through local staff and associates on the ground, UNICEF devotes its efforts to tackle poverty and segregation in order that every child is treated justly. UNICEF recognizes that children are uniquely susceptible to the effects of climatic change as well as HIVAIDS, and therefore, has time and again launched campaigns all over the world to enlighten communities on way through which they can protect themselves and the young generation (The UK Committee for UNICEF, 2010).

Conclusion
It can therefore be concluded that children together with their families continue to experience hurdles to the enjoyment of their fundamental human rights as well as to their inclusion in society affairs. Their capacities are also underrated and their needs given a low priority. Even though the situation is improving, a lot needs to be done to guarantee protection of childrens rights.  The United Nations Childrens Fund is an organ of the UN that mainly deals with childrens matters. This organ devotes time and resources to advocate for protection of childrens rights which include right to life right to education, right to protection from abuse right to proper medical care and right to be heard. The efforts of UNICEF, in its promotion of childrens rights not only in Africa but all over the world, are remarkable. The chief mission of UNICEF is to promote the protection of the rights of children, to assist satisfy their fundamental needs as well as widen their opportunities to attain their maximum potential.