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[23 May 2005, BAMAKO] - Over forty journalists from the West and Central
African region were invited by UNICEF to take part in a media briefing on
how to report on child protection issues and how to report on violence
against children from a child rights perspective.
Organised by UNICEF, in collaboration with the Government of Mali, this
third regional consultation will gather government representatives,
International, regional and national NGOs, children and media from 24
countries of West and Central Africa. As with other regions, West and
Central Africa will be focusing the consultation on four areas specific to the
region, these are:
1. violence in the family
2. violence in the community
3. violence in institutions
4. child labour and violence
The session was opened by a panel of speakers, including, Paulo Sergio
Pinheiro, the Independent Expert leading the Secretary-General’s Study on
violence against children, Dr Ezio Gianni Murzi, UNICEF Regional Director,
Mr. Jean-Claude Legrand, Regional Adviser, and Frances Turner, the
Representative for UNICEF Mali.
Pinheiro talked about the importance of these regional consultations, and
how they fit into the global study. It is not just an academic study, it must
involve children, civil society, the media, local organisations, and children.
The study is global because every single country in the world has violence
against children and not one country is perfect in terms of child rights and
human rights; violence against children is not a fatality, it is practiced by
citizens, parents and governments; and the state is ultimately responsible,
and must work in collaboration with civil society and other organisations.
Jean-Claude Legrand emphasised what seems to be the most important
obstacle in this region, which is the lack of knowledge and information
available on the issues relating to violence against children, “to find
answers to the problems, we must first improve our knowledge”. Children
have also been involved in preparing for this regional consultation, and
held a three day forum last week to work on a recommendations for the
governments. Some of the children participating at the consultation have
been preparing for six months, by leading their own research about how
children perceive violence.
Legrand also talked about violence in the family, where parents think they
should use corporal punishment to discipline children, and children expect
this quite often as well. This is what needs to be changed, but it is not
about criminalising it, but demonstrating to parents that there are other
ways to discipline children without using violence. “The State is
responsible, and we need to work with them, and take into account the
culture, hierarchy, traditions, etc. we must use dialogue in a respective
way’ he continued.
Several journalists were particularly interested to hear more about the
specificities of violence against children in West and Central Africa. Legrand
explained that recent documentation would give a focus to violence
developing in post conflict situations, which can often be violence between
men and women, boys and girls, or young and old, but also orphaned
children and children affected by HIV/AIDS. This can be seen not just in
Sierra Leone and Liberia but also in Togo and Cote d’ivoire.
The second morning session looked at child rights in more general terms.
Ibrahim Diouf introduced the new Child Protection Unit of the Communities
of States of West Africa (CEDEAO). The mandate of this unit is, on the one
hand, to lobby decision-makers to ratify relevant conventions or
mechanisms, and follow-up on implementation, on the other hand, it
undertakes fact-finding missions. Mrs. Awa Ndeye Ouedraogo, Member of
the UN Committee on the Rights of Child (CRC) explained the work and
role of the CRC and its Secretariat.
Other speakers included Imam Cheikh Hassan Cisse, President of the
Network of Islamic Associations of Africa, who briefly spoke about violence
in Koranic schools, where he explained that there seems to be reports of
more violence in those schools than in others. According to him, though,
the main issue is poverty, where most teachers in those schools are not
even paid, and even though much international aid has recently be spent
on schools in Senegal, for instance, Koranic schools have seen none of this
money.
Ambassador Djibrila Maiga, Traditional Songhoy Chief, blamed the
problems of violence affecting children as a breakdown in the community
that traditionally supported children. Today children are left to their own
devices. Parents, traditional village chiefs, organisations and the media
must work together to maximise children’s participation and emancipation.
Mrs. Christiane Agboton-Johnson, from Communaute d’Eglises en Mission,
said that there needs to be some research and thinking done within
religious communities to establish how it is they see violence against
children. Religious leaders should be trained on child rights issues, and
new readings of religious books should be done where one recognises
and highlights where children’s fundamental rights are mentioned.