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Thursday, November 7, 2024

More must be done to protect children: Ramaphosa

By Simon Nare

President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for more resolve to protect the rights of children, advocating for existing laws to be complemented by social and other forms of support.

Writing in his weekly newsletter on Monday, Ramaphosa said that as the country celebrated National Children’s Day on Saturday, it should take stock of what needed to be done to protect the rights of children.

The president said South Africa, which was a signatory of the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child, had a duty to ensure that children were protected from human trafficking and sexual assaults.

He said South Africa has made progress in passing laws and policies to ensure children’s right to survival.

He mentioned free primary healthcare for those under the age of six, free basic services to poor families and the child support grant.

Ramaphosa also said the school nutrition programme had made a significant difference in improving the educational and health outcomes for millions of children from indigent families. 

“To advance the right of children to protection from abuse, neglect and exploitation, we have passed laws outlawing child labour, corporal punishment and child marriages. 

“As much as we have made progress, we are keenly aware that much more needs to be done to give effect to the rights of our nation’s youngest citizens, and to protect them from abuse,” he wrote.

The president reminded the nation about recent criminal cases of children being trafficked into the sex trade, raped, murdered and subjected to the worst forms of abuse often by those closest to them. 

Such tragedies were a stark reminder that progressive legislation must be matched by social and other forms of support.

Ramaphosa said the UN convention stipulated that every child had a right to survival, protection and education, among other things.

“These rights are also aimed at creating a safe and nurturing environment for all children, allowing them to grow and thrive.

“The adoption of the convention by the democratic South Africa was a critical step towards addressing the legacy of our past. Colonialism and apartheid ruined the prospects of millions of black children, who were the youngest victims of deprivation, discrimination and exclusion,” he said.

“By the end of apartheid, the mortality rate for black children was six times higher than that of white children. These disparities reflected everywhere else, from living conditions and access to basic services, to access to social care and services, to education.”

The president said the country had witnessed how poverty and under-development deprived children of their childhood and forced many of them to leave school and find work because their families were poor.

He added that the ongoing abuse of children, whether physical, sexual or emotional, was the worst form of deprivation and a stain on the nation’s conscience.

INSIDE EDUCATION

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