PARLIAMENT AND UNICEF JOIN FORCES IN DEFENCE OF CHILDREN’S RIGHTS

PARLIAMENT AND UNICEF JOIN FORCES IN DEFENCE OF CHILDREN’S RIGHTS

Maputo, 30 Nov (AIM) – The Mozambican Parliament, Assembly of the Republic (AR), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) pledged on Tuesday to join forces to promote children’s rights, particularly against child marriage.

The commitment was expressed in Maputo after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Assembly and UNICEF.The document was signed by the Assembly Secretary General, Alfredo Nampete, and the UNICEF representative in Mozambique, Maria Luísa Fornara.

With regard to children’s rights, the memorandum establishes an improvement in the capacity of parliamentarians to exercise effectively their legislative, supervisory and representative functions, including a culture of transparency and dialogue with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and the media.

Speaking minutes after signing the agreement, Nampete said the Assembly hopes that this partnership will enlighten parliamentarians about the pressing challenges facing children in Mozambique.

He also believes that it will provide them with tools to monitor the application of the Convention on the Rights of the Child ratified by the country in 1994, enabling the definition of more effective public policies for the promotion of children’s rights and protection.

According to Nampete, sometimes the AR has seen children being forced into child marriage and child labour by their families.“Families who, instead of sending their children to schools, prefer to send them to hard labour, create obstacles to the growth of the children”, he said.

For her part, Luisa Fornara said that the partnership with the Mozambican parliament creates opportunities for interaction between civil society and parliamentarians, to identify more problems and propose legal solutions.

She pointed out that the memorandum should contribute to increasing budget transparency by facilitating interaction between parliamentarians and civil society, and greater information sharing on the management of public finances.

“Our partnership has contributed to providing parliamentarians with strategic information on children’s rights”, she said.
(AIM)
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