Luanda - The Speaker national Assembly, Carolina Cerqueira, Wednesday in Luanda, advocated continued investment in education and maternal and child health, within the scope of public policies, in order to guarantee the physical, cognitive, social and emotional development of children.
Speaking at the opening of a meeting organised to mark the celebration of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is being celebrated today, the parliamentary leader said that the investment will allow for greater learning and the well-being of children as they grow up.
On the occasion, Carolina Cerqueira called on parliamentarians to help ensure that children's rights are effectively implemented in communities and society in general, and cultivated within the family to mitigate stereotypes of inequalities between boys and girls at all levels.
He pointed out that the current conflicts in the southern part of the African continent, such as in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Great Lakes Region, have caused devastating situations for the populations affected, especially for children.
‘Problems such as psychological trauma, dropping out of school, military conscription, forced child labour, lack of health care, extreme poverty, physical or psychological violence, contamination with sexually transmitted diseases, early pregnancy, forced marriages, human and organ trafficking and many other inhumane practices and modern forms of human exploitation are major challenges for us to address and demand zero tolerance in order to materialise the objectives of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child,’ he stressed.
He considered that the exposure of children to these practices has subsequently revealed the heartbreaking extent of the disorders and relationship and behavioural difficulties that affect their family and social reintegration.
He pointed out that at SADC level many initiatives are underway for the implementation by member countries of the Model Law on the Matter, which defines the set of principles and standards aimed at encouraging member states to adopt programmes and policies to support the development of children and their families.
He pointed out the need to create conditions to improve children's lives, emphasising that this requires significant investment in the various sectors of society, so that their well-being is always the priority.
The meeting was organised by the National Assembly's 8th Committee on the Family, Children and Social Action, in partnership with the FP-SADC's Health, Sexual and Reproductive Rights, HIV-AIDS and Governance Project, under the slogan ‘Inclusion and Protection of Children with Disabilities at Every Stage of Life’.
The aims of the event were to provide a platform through which children and young people with disabilities can freely express their opinions and to increase engagement between children and young people with disabilities and decision-makers, in particular Members of the National Assembly and the Executive.
The event was attended by UNICEF's deputy representative in Angola, Andrew Trevett, members of the National Assembly, children, young people and adults with disabilities, representatives of civil society and different ministerial departments.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 20 November 1989 and entered into force on 2 September 1990.
The commemoration of 20 November (Universal Children's Rights Day) is linked to the proclamation of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959 and the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) by the United Nations General Assembly.
The latter is based on four fundamental pillars relating to all children's rights (civil, political, economic, social and cultural): non-discrimination, the best interests of the child, survival and development and the opinion of the child, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
According to the Convention, the child must be the centre of absolute adult attention. It recognises as a ‘child’ any individual under the age of 18 and confers on this population all the rights hitherto reserved for adults. It also stipulates that these rights must be exercised without discrimination of any kind.
The document, according to UNICEF, is the most widely accepted human rights instrument in universal history, since it has been ratified by 196 countries.
Angola signed it in 1990 and is among the 41 African countries that have signed it, according to the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
CPM/SEC/DAN/DOJ
