Africa-Press – Botswana. Children’s wellbeing and prosperity need to be safeguarded.
This can be achieved by investing in them at every stage of their development and providing adequate and appropriate protection and care for development strategies.
Officiating during the Joint Regional Child Rights Conference, Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Mabuse Pule said children comprised a significant demography on which sustainable development was grounded.
As a result, Mr Pule said government policies must focus on tackling poverty and its different dimensions through provision of basic needs and services, economic diversification as well as building resilient communities for the betterment of children’s livelihoods.
Mr Pule said the Life-Cycle Approach (LCA) to social protection, which government had adopted, was one of the key strategies that required adequate and appropriate investment to be made at each stage in the continuum of human development.
“This includes adequate nutrition and care for expectant mothers, safe water, safe food, immunisation and access to quality health services, appropriate sexual and reproductive health services and information for adolescents and teenagers as well as access to quality education for all ages,” he said.
Mr Pule said the need to create a world in which children felt safe and protected from abuse, exploitation and torture could not be over emphasised.
“Due to their dependency and vulnerability status, children present as key targets for violation, therefore the justice system has to be accessible to all children, whether they are victims or perpetrators, it must be dispensed within reasonable time,” Mr Pule said.
He highlighted the need to create safe spaces for children’s recreation and build communities in which peace and inclusiveness were promoted to avoid conflict at all costs.
In acknowledging children as not just subjects of protection, but as agents of change, the assistant minister said there was need for the continued creation of platforms for engagement with children for their meaningful participation in the promotion of their own safety as well as other matters that affected their well-being.
“As state parties to the various child rights treaties, governments have an obligation to develop, resource and implement appropriate interventions, laws, policies, programmes, structures and institutions that will ensure effective service delivery,” he said.
Additionally, he noted that government was also duty bound to ensure safe passage of children to productive adulthood and care for children and uphold their rights to basic human necessities as well as protect them from physical and emotional harm.
Mr Pule further applauded SADC member states for the commitment they had shown to their children by acceding to ratify various international child rights protection instruments.
He nonetheless said there was still more to be done within the continent to fully consolidate children’s rights.
“We regrettably still have some cultural practices that continue to violate the rights of children including child marriage, child labour, and female genital mutilation as well as harmful cultural and traditional practices,” he said.
Mr Pule cautioned that governments could not adequately advocate for children without the brokerage and input of Child Service Organisations (CSOs).
He implored CSOs to also be proactive and guide government with relevant information and tools, adding that CSOs’ significant contribution in mobilising, protecting and facilitating the protection and development of children, especially in marginalised communities, was recognised and appreciated.
Source: dailynews
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