Child Rights Centered Preferences in Private Sector Corporate Social Responsibility Programs: A human dignity approach

Abstract: Human dignity is the leading value on which all other human rights are grounded. Theadoption of child-sensitive policies as well as programmes has not been mainstreamed inCorporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Zimbabwe. Infrastructure that sustains business andlocal government interests has been at the fore-front of most CSR programs especially in themining industry to the detriment of children"s rights. Consequently, child focused programs suchas education (including the promotion of sports for children), health, and hygiene and sanitationunder CRBA are often overlooked. This paper uses a qualitative case study of Zimplats inMhondoro-Ngezi to evaluate the extent to which CSR projects incorporate children"s rights. Thestudy shows that even as corporate investment has led to better infrastructure and quality of life,children"s rights continue to take a back-seat, through exclusion from decision-makingprocesses. Their welfare is often seen as secondary to the interests of companies and politicians.The study advocates for the embrace of a model of CSR formulation based on child rights whichis premised on perceiving children as essential stakeholders in sustainable development.