Hurdles on child rights in EA set for review
By The Citizen Reporter, The Citizen Correspondent
Arusha, Tanzania.
Issues which have negatively impacted on child rights in the East African Community will be discussed during the bloc’s child rights conference which starts in Bujumbura today (September 1).
The three-day conference is also expected to provide a platform for facilitating children participation, in the regional integration process, according to the EAC deputy secretary general (Productive and Social Sectors), Ms Jesca Eriyo.
"This important event will enable representatives from children, governments, EAC, civil society and non-government organisations and development partners, to develop innovative and creative solutions to problems hindering the realisation of the child rights," she said.
She stressed that as the EAC consolidates implementation of the Customs Union and Common Market, it was imperative to assess the impact of the process on the realisation of child rights "and put appropriate policies to ensure that all children benefit from the regional integration process."
The conference is expected to attract over 150 participants from the five EAC partner states and has been organised by the Secretariat in collaboration with the Inter-Agency Working Group (Save the Children, Plan International, World Vision, African Child Policy Forum, UNICEF and African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (RIATT).
According to Ms Eriyo, besides sharing experiences on the progress made in the realisation of child rights in the bloc, the meeting is also expected to lay the foundation for the development of an EAC Children Policy.
She asserted that having a declaration on the promotion of child rights in the EAC and the framework for developing an EAC Children Policy, will be key outputs of the three-day conference.
“The timing is right because we will have the opportunity to comply with the EAC Development Strategy (2012-2016) which addresses the issue of child rights,” she pointed out.
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