Umbrella child rights organisation launched
Chairman of the Rights of the Child Commission, Aleema Nasir, speaking at the launching of the Child Rights Alliance (Photo by Adrian Narine)
Chairman of the Rights of the Child Commission, Aleema Nasir, speaking at the launching of the Child Rights Alliance (Photo by Adrian Narine)

THE Child Rights Alliance (CRA) was been launched on Wednesday as an agency which brings together several child rights organisations to achieve the common goal of protecting Guyana’s children against all forms of violence and abuse.The organisation seeks to create an enabling environment for the holistic development of children and to empower them through awareness of their rights, Childlink Inc. Programme Manager, Kean Chase said.

The CRA was launched at a simple ceremony at the National Library Wednesday and was hosted by Queens College students Joshanna Hopkinson and Suprya Bishnauth, who themselves have been peer educators on the CRA project, which started its work since 2014.

The groups which formed CRA include the Rights of The Child Commission, ChildLink Inc. and the Child Care and Protection Agency.

It is strongly supported by the European Union, the Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO), the Child Advocacy Centre and Guyana Association of Women Lawyers.

Student, Vashni Singh, recites a poem declaring her rights as a child

Rights of the Child Commission Chairman, Aleema Nasir said the CRA is the culmination of much deliberation among the divergent groups, and a recognition that more coordination is needed to successfully push for children’s rights.
It represents “a tangible conviction that the time is now for all stakeholders to combine and coordinate their efforts in a consultative way aimed at ensuring that the protective rights of our nation’s children are safeguarded”.

She anticipates an expansion of the group to include partners from all regions and sub-regions.

The United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child signed in 1959 consists of declarations which contribute to the holistic growth of children, classified under categories of survival, development, protection and participation of children.

Nasir said campaigns advancing harmonisation of all four categories of articles result in the holistic development of the child, and added that protection rights should be non-negotiable.
ChildLink Patron, Ameena Gafoor said all should work towards fostering a more wholesome environment since the lives of children are precious, fragile and are at stake.

WHOLESOME ENVIRONMENT
“We are all working towards fostering a more wholesome environment. We want to help children to reach their full potential that is their God-given right,” she said.
Urging parents to take all efforts necessary “to give children the attention they deserve, to help them find themselves, to take their rightful place in this society,” Gafoor said parents and others responsible for children must “do our jobs aggressively without threatening anyone”.

Protection of children must span 24-hours every day and love, guidance and honesty must be given in order for them to grow into functional and healthy adults.

ChildCare and Protection Agency Deputy Director, Leota Langford said she is hoping to see all regions, communities, religious organisations, security forces and other groups come together and spread awareness to families about the rights of the child.

In the United Nations Declaration on the Convention of the Rights of the Child, the child “is recognised, universally, as a human being who must be able to develop physically, mentally, socially, morally, and spiritually, with freedom and dignity”.

The declaration identifies the need of children for special care and protection, including appropriate legal protection before and after birth.

The 10 principles include the right to equality, without distinction on account of race, religion or national origin; the right to special protection for the child’s physical, mental and social development; the right to a name and a nationality; the right to adequate nutrition, housing and medical services; the right to special education and treatment when a child is physically or mentally handicapped; the right to understanding and love by parents and society; the right to recreational activities and free education; the right to be among the first to receive relief in all circumstances; the right to protection against all forms of neglect, cruelty and exploitation; and the right to be brought up in a spirit of understanding, tolerance, friendship among peoples, and universal brotherhood.

 

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