The rights of children in Africa were subject to extensive debate at a meeting focussed on improving their future Delegates from 53 African countries gathered in Cairo last week to attend the second Pan-African Forum on Children: Mid-Term Review, including 20 ministers for children affairs, Reem Leila reports. The delegates were joined by representatives of UNICEF and African Union (AU) at the four-day forum which began on 29 October. The gathering was sponsored by Mrs Suzanne Mubarak in her capacity as the chairperson of the Technical and Advisory Committee (TAC) of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM). The conference is considered an opportune venue for delegates to address some key challenges facing their governments and exchange views. A packed agenda included discussions of children rights, the protection of African children from violence, abuse, exploitation and diseases, fighting child labour and trafficking, as well as ending the use of child soldiers. At the forum, Mrs Mubarak urged the UN to embrace Africa's demands for the protection of children from the continent, and urged the international community to fulfil its commitments towards African children. She also called on it to do its part to implement the international partnership for development, saying that the children of Africa deserve to be in a quality learning environment where access to technology and information networks is a real part of their future. "We must be honest in our appraisal of progress made for children by identifying both the weakness and the untapped resources," stated Mrs Mubarak. "Above all, Africa's leaders must acknowledge that their key enemies lie within their own borders as does their most valuable resource, their youth." She asserted that poverty, violence, negligence, malnutrition, low quality of education and gender discrimination still heavily impact children's life opportunities, as well as prospects of progress. UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Kul C Gautam told the forum that a unified African stance aims at creating a better atmosphere for African children, renewing commitment to childhood rights, welfare and better living conditions. For Gautam, eradicating AIDS/ HIV and protecting children in conflict areas are among the goals of a united Africa. According to UNICEF reports, about 300,000 children -- including girls -- under the age of 18 work as soldiers in armed conflicts worldwide, 120,000 of whom fight in African alone, especially in Angola, the Democratic Sierra Leone, Sudan and Uganda. While girl soldiers in Angola are subject to abuse, most African children in areas of dispute become refugees. According to UNRWA reports, more than 65 per cent of 300,000 African refugees are children who have no hope of returning to their homes in the near future. Africa also suffers from slavery, continued the UNRWA report with some 27 million living under various types of slavery. This number continues to grow as a result of raging civil wars and famines, which prompt some to sell and abduct children. Statistics show that children slaves have become a phenomenon in Latin America, Asia and West Africa, where about 200,000 children are forced to work in farms in the mornings and are locked and tortured like animals at nights. The Ivory Coast is a major source for human trafficking, where some families will sell their child at $15. Another phenomenon in developing nations is that poverty causes children to work before they turn 18, accounting for the 250 million children ranging from five to 14 years who engage in jobs worldwide. One third of these are Africans. The UNRWA report also revealed that African children become orphans because the HIV/AIDS epidemic killed their parent. Some 5,000 Africans die every day from AIDS, a figure which is expected to reach 16,000 by the year 2008. The UN estimates the number of children orphans because of AIDS at 11.2 million children worldwide, 95 per cent of whom are in Africa. "The spread of this fatal virus can be attributed largely to the lack of proper awareness. Hence, education is the key we hold in our hands to rein in this catastrophe. The traditional role of education needs to be broadened in the sense of imparting more than just knowledge and skills. It must actively participate in strengthening the social fabric by fostering mortality and promoting awareness," stated Gautam. According to Mrs Mubarak, there is no investment that yields greater returns than the education of our children. Finding ways for all children, especially girls, to attend schools deserves more of our attention. "In Egypt, there has been significant progress and the target in the future is those communities where children do not attend school," stated Mrs Mubarak. According to her, several achievements were made in the past few years to protect and enforce children rights as well as child welfare and development. "We issued the first and second Declaration of the Child, launched initiatives, issued strategies and plans to combat practices which negatively impact the well being of children and the enjoyment of their childhood," she told delegates. Mushira Khattab, secretary-general of the NCCM, highlighted that the council and other concerned authorities created partnerships with governments, NGOs, communities and parents to promote the education of all children -- particularly girls. This has taken the form of community schools which provide innovative types of education, free of charge, to all members of community. On the last day, the pan-African forum released its recommendations on a host of practical steps to create a better life for children, as well as enhancing cooperation between African governments and civil organisations to protect and develop children's capabilities. "There is emphasis on transforming promises to implementing commitments," noted Khattab. "Also, stressing the leadership's commitment, responsibility and accountability." Participants also wanted to see cooperation among African countries through exchange of expertise, and called on international and regional organisations, as well as donor countries, to back triangular cooperation and help identify needs and how to meet them. Delegates further recommended an enhanced partnership between public authorities, the private sector, local communities and NGOs to address children- related issues. Khattab believes debate at the forum "was marked by frankness" regarding all items on the agenda, and that the issues of child education and healthcare were successfully tackled by delegates.
