Some marriages are not yet formally recognised in our New South Africa and they and their offspring have no legal rights under separation. Neither do unmarried fathers who must pay maintenance but who have NO rights concerning the children for whom they are paying it. The much vaunted constitution of our rainbow nation seems to have promised so much but delivered so little. Despite many pleas in the form of submissions to the Constitutional Assembly. Parents, children the effect of party politics took its toll and family rights hardly got a mention, especially not in the area of non-custodial parents.
Every child has the right to family care, parental care, or appropriate alternative care .
Will the National Plan of Action on Children suffer the same fate. At the 1990 United Nations World Summit for Children, over one hundred and fifty-nine countries pledged to enhance the survival, protection and development of millions of children throughout the world. The CRC is an internationally endorsed set of fundamental rights for all children. It is time to demand that these inequalities and injustices are addressed. It is time to demand that the rights and wishes of children are investigated and respected and that they are not used as sacrificial pawns in petty, pathetic bickering between parents who choose to divorce.