The education system of South Africa is one of discrimination, and a premeditated assault on the rights of children. Schools for blacks lack essential equipment and are inferior to those schools that whites attend. The state of emergency which was introduced in June 1988, remains in one form or another up to the present. It was designed to suppress dissent and to curtail the few civil rights that existed for the black population. These regulations allowed for the detaining of children for up to forty-eight hours without going before a judge or magistrate. Lawyers working within South Africa must follow the laws of that country. Laws designed to protect children who are being held have been overriden by the security legislation. The aim of Legal Aid for Children in Crisis is to help people deal with the iniquities of the system, and to provide legal aid for children and youth who have either been detained without trial or arrested on criminal charges by South African police or security forces. The Convention on the Rights of Children will help South African children and also reaffirms that the people are working for the correct cause in trying to aid the children.