The Gambian National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) says the Day of the African Child presents an opportunity for Governments and stakeholders to reflect on the challenges children face despite the laws and policies that have been passed to promote, protect, and fulfil their rights.
In a statement on Thursday, the Commission said the country had seen significant milestones in the area of law and policy on children.
“The National Social Protection Policy and the National Child Protection Strategy both cover comprehensive critical issues such as child marriage, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and child labour,” the statement said.
These are complemented by the establishment of a specialised ministry for child protection, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare, the Police Child Welfare Unit, the Social Welfare Hotline Service and community-based child protection systems.
The theme for this year’s commemoration is, “Eliminating Harmful Practices Affecting Children: Progress on Policy and Practice since 2013.”
The statement said the theme provides the opportunity “to evaluate the impact of the laws and policies we have in place to prohibit Female Genital Mutilation, child marriage, child trafficking, child labour, sexual abuse and exploitation, child sex tourism, and other harmful social and cultural practices, and how they affect children in our country”.
The statement also noted that despite the existence of numerous domestic legislations and Gambia being party to child-focused regional and international legal instruments, children in the country continue to be subjected to harmful practices which violate their human rights.
FGM is still practised across the country with up to 73 percent of females aged 15 to 49 years having undergone the practice.
The statement also nted that although the legal minimum age for marriage for both boys and girls is 18 years, child marriage remains prevalent with 34.2 per cent of the women aged 20-49 years marrying before 18 years.
On labour, the statement observed that children as young as 5 years, with a higher prevalence among adolescents, 15-17 years, are seen working.
“When children are on the streets, especially during school hours, they miss out on their right to education. It also exposes them to other forms of vulnerability, especially sexual abuse, and exploitation. For many of these children, this increases the burden of poverty and exclusion that they may face in their communities,” the statement said.
Mr. Emmanuel Daniel Joof, Chairperson of the NHRC said: “We have an obligation to end all forms of harmful practices which deny too many children, especially girls, the right to life, protection from inhumane and degrading treatment, the rights to development and education, dignity, and the best attainable standard of physical and mental health.”
He added that it is the Government’s primary duty to effectively enforce and implement all laws that protect children from these practices.