FG Decries Delay by Some States to Domesticate Child Rights Act 19 Years After

Okon Bassey in Uyo

The federal government yesterday expressed worry that only 26 states of the federation have domesticated the Child Rights Act (CRA), which was passed into law 19 years ago.

This statement was made by the Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs. Pauline Tallen, who noted that remarkable progress has been made with the Violence Against Person Prohibition (VAPP) Act 2015, which has been domesticated by 29 states.

Tallen regretted that violence against children was the most pronounced violation of Human Rights across the globe, “yet it is one of the least prosecuted offences and has become the greatest threat to achieving lasting peace and sustainable development.”

She made these observations during the 21st National Council Meeting on Women Affairs, which was held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, and pointed out that the Nigeria in 2017 became a path finding country within the Global Partnership to End Violence against Children.

“It is disheartening to note that since the passage of the Child Rights Act in 2003 only 26 states have domesticated it, with 10 states still outstanding. Remarkable progress has however been made with the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act 2015 with 29 states that have domesticated it.”

Speaking on the issue of child adoption across the country, the Minister said her ministry had treated all the requests received from the states urging states to speed the adoption process to reduce the backlog.

She praised all the commissioners in various states of the federation for being proactive in addressing issues of child molestation, abduction, trafficking as witnessed in the past one year.

“I wish to use this medium to appeal to those who want to adopt children should follow the right channel and stop patronising baby factory operators and traffickers.

“Let me also appeal that all children who have been rescued from traffickers should as a matter of urgency be enrolled into schools, so that we are not breeding another set of criminally minded individuals.” she said.