The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Pauline Tallen, has said that 31 states in Nigeria have domesticated the Child Rights Act to enable the fight against vices confronting children in the country.
Tallen made the disclosure in her speech at the Capacity Building for the State Children Parliament members at the weekend organized by Save The Children International in collaboration with the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development in Benue State.
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She said that the parliament offered children to develop skills and promote unity, adding that the ministry under her watch would continue to ensure that the rights of children are protected and fight against vices against the children.
“Our coming together as children is to talk on issues concerning us, this is a way to have interaction among yourself on issues of child abuse, child labour, forced marriage and other things as connected in the child rights act.
“The Ministry of Women Affairs is to see that domestication of Child Rights Act is carried out in most of the states, as of today, 31 states have domesticated the Child Rights Act and the ministry will continue to see that the rights of children are protected,” Tallen said.
The minister who was represented by the Senior Community Development Official (SCDO), Emmanuel Alhassan, promised everything legally possible to maintain the rights of children in the country.
Also, in her keynote address, the Benue State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Tabitha Igirgi, expressed worry that the voice and participation in public policy by children in the state had not been heard for the past six years.
Igirgi who spoke through the ministry’s permanent secretary, Finbar Ngufan, commended the support of Save the Children International for its commitment to ensuring the full participation and inclusiveness of children in the state.
“From the year 2014 to date, children and young people in Benue State were virtually voiceless in making inputs into formulating of public policies that affect them at all levels of governance.
“It is worthy of note that the establishment of children’s parliament represents a positive response to the need to listen to young voices and inculcate in them the values of democracy,” she added.
Earlier, the field manager of Save the Children International, Oluwaseyi Abejide, in his address noted that the purpose of inaugurating the state children parliament was to promote the right of children and to be part of the noble intervention to the full set of children’s parliament.
