Africa-Press – Mauritius. A SADC regional seminar on the impacts of climate change on children began here on Wednesday, and participants were urged to confront the deep inequities and blind spots in climate action and to imagine a continent “fit for children”.
The call was made by Professor Benyam Dawit Mezmur, the deputy dean of the postgraduate studies and head of the Children’s Rights Project at the University of the Western Cape (UWC).
“I can confidently say the children’s rights space is served better with more politicians and parliamentarians getting involved,” he said.
He hailed the seminar’s diverse participation and said what united the delegates was “the love we have for the continent of Africa” and a shared ambition “to create an Africa that is fit for children; safer than the one we were handed by our parents.”
Turning to global politics and climate action, Mezmur cited a recent article co-authored by Kenyan president William Ruto and published in The Guardian newspaper of South Africa.
He said: “A few months ago, president [William] Ruto co-wrote an opinion piece for The Guardian. It said in part, ‘Among the many shocks currently facing the international development community is the new direction of the US administration on climate and the implications worldwide for mitigation and adaptation efforts… This is not uncharted territory. While a withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement is undoubtedly a setback, it no longer carries the same level of disruption as it did. The global community has become more resilient and will continue to advance climate action.’ I hope this is true for the entire world and for the continent, and I hope it is for the SADC region.”
In that article, president Ruto warned that international development efforts are increasingly being shaped and, in some cases, jeopardised by shifting US foreign policy priorities, particularly in the wake of dramatic aid cuts and retreat from multilateralism.
While acknowledging that regional literature points to attempts at addressing climate change through sub-regional mechanisms, Mezmur warned that climate change is a global challenge requiring synergised efforts.
He encouraged delegates to engage critically with the seminar’s programme, which attempts to move beyond the view of children as a homogeneous group.
“Climate change affects children differently,” he said and warned against the temptation to see children as a monolith.
The three-day seminar brings together parliamentarians, civil society actors, academics, SADC-PF SRHR, HIV and AIDS governance project researchers and the secretariat of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
Under the auspices of the African Children’s Charter Project, the seminar is running under the theme ‘Championing Collective Child-Responsive Climate Action’.
Discussions will focus on how to tailor climate responses to meet the distinct needs of children while amplifying their voices in policy processes.
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