Limpho Sello
CHILDREN’S rights should be protected even in situations of conflict and extreme poverty.
This was said by Social Development Minister Molahlehi Letlotlo during Day of the African Child commemorations held on Thursday at Leshoboro Stadium in Mafeteng.
The Day of the African Child has been celebrated on 16 June every year since 1991, when it was first initiated by the then Organisation of African Unity. It honours students who were massacred in Soweto, South Africa, in 1976 for protesting against education injustice and inequality in the apartheid regime.
It also raises awareness on the continuing need for improvement of the education provided to African children.
This year, the commemorations were held under the theme “In conflict and Crisis protect all Children’s rights”.
Mr Letlotlo said the Day of the African Child commemorations were also in line with a government campaign to end child marriages which is running from 2015 until 2017.
“Children should be allowed to go to school and not be forced into early marriages since it is their right to prepare for a brighter future,” he said.
The minister also urged all stakeholders on children’s rights, such as the government, non-governmental organisations and global agencies, to increase efforts to improve the plight of children.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative Nadi Albino said there was an urgent need to mainstream child protection in the policies, activities and operations of African countries.
“For children, boys and girls, this day highlights the impact of conflict in all its forms in African countries, emphasizing the need for all of us to take our individual and collective roles in protecting them very seriously,” she said.
“While we may not, as a country, experience full scale conflict as compared to other countries in the region, we are aware and concerned about pockets of violence. Violence in homes, schools, communities is enough cause for concern.”