Africa-Press – Botswana. While efforts have been made to address social ills that impede children’s rights, a review of the Child Act (2009) is viewed as the most progressive step to align with modern times.
The Attorney General, Mmako Abram, has called for a review of the Child Act (2009) to align it with modern times.
He believes the Act is old and needs to be reimagined because the government aims to strengthen legal instruments that protect children’s rights.
The Attorney General said this during a farewell session for UNICEF Country Representative, Dr Joan Matji, in Gaborone last week.
Dr Matji and Abram reflected on progress made in relation to protecting children’s rights over the years.
Child-friendly police centres
The two highlighted the successful launch of the National Child-Friendly Justice Roadmap, which saw introduction of eight child-friendly police centres in Botswana last year.
According to the Attorney General’s Chambers, Abram stated that although efforts have been made to sign and rectify legal instruments on children’s rights, the instruments have hit a stumbling block in terms of implementing them.
For this reason, the Attorney General has urged the new government to review the Child Act.
Sexual exploitation of children
The government has identified child labour, child trafficking, sexual exploitation of children and drug trafficking as the leading forms of child exploitation in Botswana.
In point of this, the Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Pius Mokgware, recently led calls for tangible results in tackling child labour cases.
The Minister stated that the introduction of data to document past inspections and self-reflection are vital in combating the issue. “All of us here, sitting in this room, should be taking the large chunk of the blame,” Mokgware said.
We are all guilty
“I have never at any time seen the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Agriculture or the police going around arresting people who abuse children.
“People employ young boys to look after their goats. Is it not true? It is very easy to sit in our comfortable chairs and talk about child labour while we are the very same people who are promoting it.”
He was speaking in Gaborone at a capacity building workshop on development of a National Action Plan on the elimination of child labour.
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