Creation of juvenile courts should be crucial to guarantee justice for children

Maputo, 3 Feb – Mozambican President Daniel Chapo believes that the creation of juvenile courts throughout the country should be crucial to guarantee technical, humane, and swift justice for children.

According to Chapo, who was speaking on Monday at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Judicial Year 2026, centred on the promotion of children’s rights, the existence of specialist courts is fundamental to guaranteeing decisions guided by the best interests of the child, especially regarding parental supervision, custody, visitation, adoption, child support, and alternative protection.

The President warned that, in a child’s life, procedural delays can represent prolonged risk, institutional abandonment, and irreparable harm.

“More than half of the Mozambican population consists of children, making the protection of childhood a strategic priority for national development”, he said. “Children are at the heart of the development of any society and protecting childhood is protecting the future of the Nation. Investing in children’s justice is investing in social peace, national cohesion, and sustainable development”.

Chapo believes that the country has a solid legal framework for the defense of children’s rights, “but there are high rates of violence against minors, as more that 32 per cent of girls and 40 per cent of boys suffer violence before the age of 18.”

According to official data, 16 per cent of children are involved in child labor, while 48 per cent of girls are victims of child marriages.

“These numbers represent interrupted lives, lost schooling, and cycles of poverty,” he stressed. It means that we need to guarantee fundamental rights, with special attention to children in situations of greater vulnerability”.

The President also warned against the exploitation of children by criminal networks, advocating firm action from the judicial system in holding offenders to account.

(AIM)
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