The first section of the paper provides an overview of the protection accorded children within Mozambique's legal framework. The discussion groups some of the most fundamental rights of the child into three categories: political, economic, and social rights. Political rights pertain to equal protection irrespective of race, religion, ethnic origin, and age, as well as the right to a name and nationality and the freedoms of expression, thought, assembly, association, and religion. Economic and social rights involve the right to be treated with understanding and love by family and society; the right to a family; the right to special protection for complete physical, mental, and social development; the right to health; the right to education; the right to special protection for the physically or mentally disabled; and protection from abuse, exploitation, and abandonment. The authors offer a critical perspective of how the state has attempted to move from the codification to the realization of rights, primarily through programs that target specific populations, efforts to end the armed conflict, and economic and social policies. These attempts are assessed against the backdrop of the ongoing war and its implications for the success or failure of child-care policies. Finally, the paper reviews recent steps to promote compliance with the norms delineated in the Convention. It also proposes how the local, state, and international communities can cooperate to implement children's rights in Mozambique. 12 notes