Southern Africa Conference on Children's Rights Resolutions

From 14-16 November 2011, Save the Children, the Pan African Parliament and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) CNGO, hosted a conference on the Status of Children’s Rights in Southern Africa. The conference was attended by government representatives from 11 SADC countries, the Pan African Parliament MPs, SADC Parliamentary Forum MPs, African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, civil society organisations from 12 SADC countries, academics and consultants.

The conference was aimed at increasing the participant’s understanding of instruments and processes in promoting accountability for the realisation of children’s rights. There were dialogue sessions to strengthen civil society and government’s capacity to collaborate on advocacy issues around children’s issues. On the last day a committee was established to take forward the process of establishing a Regional Child Rights Reference Group to undertake advocacy around children’s rights in the region.

The conference made the following resolutions:

• Recognising that children’s rights will be realised by the active participation and contributions of all stakeholders, the conference resolves that civil society will collaborate and continuously engage with children and government and other regional and continental bodies, including but not limited to, SADC Secretariat, SADC Parliamentary Forum, African Union, the United Nations and the private sector;
• Further noting the imperative of child participation in matters that affect them, the conference resolves to involve children in the regional child rights reference group, support their own initiatives and ensure that their views and voices are heard and considered;
• The conference resolves to call upon governments in the region to do everything within their means and powers to support the realisation of child rights, particularly promoting the full implementation of the SADC Minimum Package of Basic Services for Children, African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the UNCRC and its protocols;
• Mindful of the need to monitor progress towards the realisation of children’s rights, the conference resolves that civil society and governments should work together in ensuring that country progress and monitoring reports are submitted to regional and international treaty bodies and recommendations are acted upon;
• In order to implement conference outcomes and promote the coordination of children’s activities in southern African region, the conference established an interim civil society regional child rights reference group whose interim secretariat shall be Save the Children working with the SADC Council of NGOs;
• The conference resolves that delegates will return home and consult with relevant stakeholders working with children in order to identify a representative to serve on the civil society Child Rights Reference Group and to ensure the involvement of these stakeholders in meaningful activity to advance child rights;
• The conference acknowledges that in order to fulfil due process, focal people have been nominated from each country in order to take forward the process of establishing a regional child rights reference group.

For more information contact:

Noma Rangana
Tel: 012 342 0222
E-mail: nomar@saf.savethechildren.se

For more about Save the Children Southern Africa, refer to www.saf.savethechildren.se.

To view other NGO press releases, refer to www.ngopulse.org/group/home-page/pressreleases.