admin
Child president Moyo said this yesterday at Harare International Conference Centre while officially opening the 21st session of the Junior Parliament and National Youth Policy.
“We join the rest of the African continent to commemorate this year’s day of the African Child under the theme ‘Eliminating Harmful Social and Cultural Practices Affecting Children: Our Collective Responsibility’.
“The protection of all forms of violence is a human rights imperative. Violence still persists in our country against children and young people alarmingly widespread, socially and culturally accepted.
“It constitutes a harsh reality for a significant of children, including in the form of harmful traditional practices,” said president Moyo.
He bemoaned the continuation of harmful social and cultural ills being perpetrated to children especially female genital mutilation, early marriage, child trafficking, and child labour among other issues.
“The vulnerability of the girl child, community perceptions of children with disability, ineffective birth registration systems, child tattooing and many others are some of the topical issues that needs an immediate attention.
”Violent in nature, compromise the development and education of the child. They leave serious and long lasting health and psychological consequences, injuries to the social well-being of a child and may result in disability or death,” he said.
President Moyo also commended the senior government for coming up with a people driven constitution whose drafting process included the input from children.
“The Junior Parliament of 2011/12 did an immense work to ensure our concerns and opinions as children’s rights are part of our new constitution,” he said.
Meanwhile President Robert Mugabe also reiterated that in the country unlike in Soweto, South Africa, has celebrated the bravery of young people through the Children’s Parliament which was created in 1991.
“While in 1976 showed us that children could take part in the political fight, we soon realized that it was equally important to give them a voice, to allow them to time to express themselves on those issues which are of concern to them,” he said.
President Mugabe castigated bullying in schools and all forms of violence being perpetrated to children.
Online Reporter