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[30 November 2011] - The government of Swaziland is interested in creating an office to serve the interests of children under the Commission on Human Rights and Public Administration. The creation of the office is in line with the commission’s constitutional mandate. Acting Deputy Prime Minister, Chief Mgwagwa Gamedze disclosed this during the official opening of the Swaziland and Zambia Human Rights Commission Exchange Visit at Royal Swazi Spa Convention Centre. Zambian Human Rights Commission Chairperson, Mwangala Msimuko is in the country on an exchange visit where the two countries will be sharing experiences about human rights. Gamedze said they were eager for Zambia to share their experience of having a children's [rights] office in the human rights commission. The creation of the children's [rights] office is yet to be finalised. In observance of the constitution and Swaziland international commitments to various bodies of the United Nations, the government was currently in the process of enacting into law the Child Protection and Welfare Bill of 2011. The bill has a wide ranging scope and was intended to address most issues that affected the development of children and their protection within communities. He said these included issues of access to health, education, maintenance, child justice, adoptions, protection from child exploitation and labour. “The concept of the best interest of the child is the guiding principle of the bill. The legal environment for children’s rights in Swaziland is found in the supreme law of the country,” he said. The chief said in line with the ratification process in the country, cabinet has recently approved four international children's rights instruments. These are the two optional protocols of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoptions. Concern over Kingdom’s Human Rights Commission Some United Nations member states have raised concern over the incapacity of the country’s Human Rights and Public Administration Commission. Acting Chairman of the commission, Sabelo Masuku said the other UN members expressed the concern during the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism to the Human Rights Council. Masuku said the UPR was held in October in Geneva where it was recommended that the Swaziland government should fully capacitate and fund the commission for it to do its work properly. The government acknowledged during the UPR that it had not met its reporting obligations under the international human rights instruments. It further accepted the recommendation that it should capacitate and fully fund the commission so that it could carry out its duties of human rights. Masuku said currently the commission did not have a secretariat. “The government has alluded to the recommendations by the UPR, so a follow up will be made to find out if indeed it has been implemented,” he said. The UPR is held every four years where the UN member countries for the Human Rights Council review the progress of each other and make recommendations. Masuku said the outcome exchange programme would contribute in building the commission’s capacity to meet the required obligations. “We are confident that the outcome of this exchange visit will contribute towards Swaziland’s efforts in further enhancing the promotion and enjoyment of the full spectrum of children’s rights in the country and our role as a commission felt,” he said. The commission was appointed into office in 2009 and it was chaired by the former Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs David Matse. Since its appointment it has been rendered inactive due to unavailability of funds. For the current financial year the commission has not been allocated any budget. The only big assignment the commission performed was a declaration of assets by public officers. Politicians declared their assets last year. Masuku said the politicians were also expected to do the same when they leave office. FPE does not reach all kids - Save the Children As much as the government recognised the responsibility of providing education for all children, it still does not reach out to the most disadvantaged. Save the Children Director, Dumsani Mnisi said certain groups of children were more likely to be excluded and they included orphans and street children. Mnisi said this was one of the many challenges faced by children in the country. “We all know that the HIV and AIDS pandemic has transcended the health boundaries and transformed into a development problem. It has become the opposite force threatening to reverse all the gains made. As a result some children have been forced to pull out of school,” he said. Some left school to fend for their siblings which deprived them of their childhood while others dropped out due the unavailability of school fees. Mnisi said all boys and girls must have access to complete education that was free, compulsory and of good quality. He said it was important to take into account the urgency and gravity of the special needs of children, there is also a need to take necessary steps to generate and commit. The director said thousands of children continued to be devastated by exploitative labour due to non-availability of exorbitant fees towards education which exposed them to all forms of abuse, neglect and violence. “Children are the hardest hit by poverty because it strikes at the very root of their potential for development, their growing bodies and minds,” he said. The enrollment of pupils at primary level was declining due to the complex needs in households. Immunisation coverage, infant mortality and morbidity were all on the decline. He said there was increased unemployment levels as companies scale or close down due to the harsh economic conditions. This meant many breadwinners will lose their income and families fail to cope with the situation. “This has serious impact in terms of survival demands for children and families across the board. This could include dropping out of school. This also results in poverty which pushes children to seek employment hence side-lining education in preference for survival means,” he said. He said the sheer scale and magnitude of the HIV prevalence was undermining all the achievements made over the years. He said the most affected by the pandemic, are children left orphaned and vulnerable by parents who have died due to HIV- and AIDS-related illness. Further Information:
He said with HIV and AIDS pandemic escalating, indicators and achievements made over the years were on decline.
pdf: http://www.observer.org.sz/index.php?news=32866