Children’s Right Advocacy Unit
focuses mainly on the Right of the Child due to the growing concern about
the human right violation in some part of the world specifically Sierra
Leone being no exception. Because of this, many fundamental human rights
in due cause however have been placed as a priority. But to help address
some of this problems and issues, AMNet have been strongly advocating for
the below issue as being part of it priority to it advocacy tool.
- Advocate and Campaign for the child right and their responsibilities
- Placed complete emphases on MDG`s particularly the universal primary
and basic education for the Girl Child
- Focus on the marginalized children; orphans and physically challenged
- Promote parenting or fostering of Street Kids to enable them to have
basic fundamental of life
- Advocate and campaign against child labour, discrimination and child
trafficking
- Focus on juvenile justice
The unit had been persistently engaged in addressing some of the issues
germane to the basic fundamentals of life through lobbying, media campaigning
involvement, networking and coalition and project implementations; to
have a clear understanding of what they meant and it significant to nation
building and security.
Before this time, particular reference have been made and placed within
child trafficking, child labour and above the civic right to basic education
for all according to the convention of the Right of the Child as
stated in Article 28 subsection 1{a} says “make primary education
compulsory and available free to all”.
Even though human right issues generally has created an impact on nation
development in most country which is equally mentioned in most human right
document designed by the United Nations ratified and domesticated by most
countries in the world; though we cannot devoid of it gross abuses in some
part of the continent, it is against this backdrop that AMNet has in collaboration
with other partners genuinely looking into some of the anomalies stated.
In Sierra Leone, human right issues has been the most growing concern
to the state, international community, international non governmental organization
and others concerns about the rat at which human right violation is been
handled badly especially on child trafficking, child labour, health care.
Variedly trafficking is the recruitment or transfer of person, force
abduction or deception, for exploitation. Trafficking is a human right
abuse. It treats human being as commodities that can be bought, sold, damaged
as or destroyed. Mostly trafficking victims are used for prostitution,
domestic services, begging, and work in factories or plantation. They are
often sexually abused, raped, beaten, tortured, exposed to hazardous working
conditions, placed in conferment and denied basic heath care and food.
Because of these reasons, many trafficking victims are forced to have unprotected
sex, thereby exposing them to HIV/AIDS, and are controlled by being forced
to take drugs.
In essence, the factors that sustain and encourage the supply of trafficking
victims includes: poverty, lack of employment opportunities, lack of education
and human rights awareness by the victims and are established culture of
violence, as well as gender-majority violence and armed conflict.
However, the overwhelming majority of trafficking victims are women and
children, who are auctioned and sold for various forms of exploitation,
such as sexually exploitation.
Children Advocacy unit had undertaken several activities
- Provided several children with fostering parents
- Provided psychosocial counseling for Street Kids, Parents and Guardian
- Set up school base clubs on child trafficking and conflict management
- Facilitated regional workshop on the education of the Girl
Child
- Facilitated regional training of trainers and a needs assessment research
on “Girls Tell US”. This is a programme that
dealt with the girl child on a one-to-one base explaining their very problems
affecting life, early marriage, schooling and health.
- Commemorated the day of the African Child on the theme ‘Stop
Child Trafficking’- June 16th 2007.
- Embarked on a weekly radio campaign on the Right of the Child and responsibilities,
lobby against trafficking, none inclusion of children into politics and their
basic fundamentals of life
- Facilitated a regional forum on the MDG`s -2&3 on universal primary
education for all
- Campaign against all forms of violence against children
- Advocate for the vulnerable kids to be included into the formal education
sector
- Child Right Act 2007
- Convention of the Right of the Child
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