During Day of the African Child celebrations on June 16th, the Republic of the Congo President, Denis Sassou Nguesso, announced that the Congo will be adopting a new child protection framework. This makes the Congo the fifth French-speaking African nation to pass such measures. The framework is comprised of a collection of texts covering all aspects of child protection, including issues concerning children in conflict with the law. The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has welcomed and supported these new measures. "It is a major breakthrough that opens new perspectives in the protection and realization of children's rights in Congo," says Marianne Flach, a UNICEF Representative in the Congo.
The Congo was also a signatory in 1989 at the UN's Convention on the Rights of a Child and the Optional Protocols to the Convention. The convention deemed that all children have the right to survival, to develop to the fullest, to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation, and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life. The new measures will help to ensure these agreed upon rights and will better monitor violations of children's rights abuses.
- Clara Hill
SOURCE: "New UN-backed plan aims to enhance child rights in Republic of Congo" - UN News, UNICEF
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