CHILDREN’S RIGHTS AND ENFORCEMENT TO GET MAINTENANCE (THE CASE OF GONDAR TOWN WEREDA COURT, AMHARA REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA)

Abstract

Children need the support and love of both parents. This is usually done when parents live together. However, when parents get separated the custodial parent mostly women are exposed to fulfill the responsibility of upbringing children singlehandedly. The purpose of this research is to assess the enforcement of the right of the child to get maintenance in Gondar town Wereda’s court of law. Qualitative research methodologies were employed. Interviews, document, and case analysis were used as data gathering instruments, thus 5 key informants, 4 in-depth interview informants, and 10 custodial parents were interviewed, and 8 real court decided cases were used to make the study more plausible. The data were interpreted and analyzed qualitatively. The findings revealed that enforcement problem of child maintenance awards are evident in the study area, most of the court’s order were not executed fully and regularly. There are no adequate laws which help to effectively execute child maintenance awards and there are no adequate institutional frameworks for effective enforcement of child maintenance matters. Finally, this study suggests the establishment of child maintenance (child support) agency, the enactment of laws that help to effectively execute child maintenance awards, the establishment of birth registration institution that works strictly in the national, regional and local level, and creating awareness about children right including the right to get maintenance for the noncustodial parents are recommended to enforce children right to get maintenance effectively.