Does the Gambian child have a right to a clean environment?

An answer to this question will firstly require an examination of the Constitutional provisions on the protection of the basic rights of the person. This is the starting point of this chapter. It will look at the 1996 Constitution of the Second Republic of The Gambia to see how much has been attempted to protect the right of children to a clean environment. The chapter will also attempt to answer the question by looking at other national laws that directly address environmental issues, specifically, the National Environment Management Act 1994 and the work of the National Environmental Agency in this area. It will then consider some International Conventions which deal with the issue of children's rights to a clean environment, to which The Gambia is signatory and try to assess how far their implementation or non-implementation affect the protection of children from a harmful environment.