Kuni Tyessi in Abuja
The African Union (AU) has identified actionable steps that should be taken to realise the full implementation of the African Children’s Charter (ACC) by 2040.
This was made known yesterday while the member states of the AU were commemorating the Day of the African Child (DAC), which is celebrated on every June 16. The theme of this year’s DAC is “Eliminating Harmful Practices Affecting Children: Progress on Policy and Practice Since 2013.”
It should be recalled that June 16, 1976, was the day school children in Soweto, South Africa, staged an uprising against perceived discrimination in the apartheid educational system that resulted in the public killing of the unarmed young protesters by police officials.
In her keynote message, Member, African Committee of Experts in the Rights and Welfare of the Child, Ms. Aver Gaver, said that the committee adopted the AU Agenda 2040 due to its emphasis on fostering an Africa that is fit for children.
Gaver, therefore, called on the Nigerian government to strengthen its child protection system through increased budgetary lines across sectors dealing with child right’s implementation.
She emphasised on the establishment of one-stop centres for integrated response to child survivors of rape, child marriage, female genital mutilation, and all forms of violence against children.
She said: “The agenda 2040 sets out ten aspirations to be achieved by 2040 and identifies action steps to be taken by AU member states towards its implementation, including calibration of its domestic laws with the ACC.
“Notably, aspiration seven of the agenda seeks to protect every child against violence, exploitation and abuse. It is, therefore, imperative for state parties to take all measures to prevent and protect children from all forms of harmful practices affecting their rights.”
In his presentation, the Representative of PLAN International, Mr. Yunus Abdulhamid, called for the domestication of the Child’s Rights Act in all states in the country, stressing that refusal to do this in some states has led to the increased abuse of child rights.
Abdulhamid lamented that the African child, particularly the girl child, is faced with issues like rape, starvation, early marriage and other social ills on a daily basis, and noted that laws, no matter how good, would amount to nothing without implementation.
He added that there should be punishment served to any crime that has been committed against a child, with emphasis that “except punishment is being given, impunity is bound to continue.”
