National Parliament Launches Child Rights Lobby Group The National Legislative Assembly yesterday launched a parliamentary lobby group that is expected to advocate and work for the welfare and respect of the rights of children.17 February 2012 The newly endorsed parliamentary lobby group for child welfare showcasing information materials to be used [©Gurtong]By Lopu Moses JUBA, 17th February 2012 [Gurtong] - The National Legislative Assembly yesterday launched a parliamentary lobby group that is expected to advocate and work for the welfare and respect of the rights of children.
The group which is composed of 15 members of parliament headed by Mary Nawai began their duties last Wednesday even before it was officially launched yesterday in the parliament. Supported by the Save the Children, an international organization that advocates for the rights of children, the lobby group is expected to promote the welfare, protection, development and participation of children through voicing their concerns in all their budgetary, legislative and policy decisions. The Chairperson of the group said that South Sudanese children are facing a lot of challenges citing child labour as one of the worst. She added that most of the kids wash cars for Ministers and Government officials for survival yet nobody seems to be bordered about it. “These children walk in the streets of South Sudan doing hard work and some of the girls have become prostitutes yet some of these things are done in the face of government officials for example washing of cars,” she said. The launch was done under the theme “speak out and act for children’s right in South Sudan.” Nawai also cited finance as a challenge to their work and appealed to the nongovernmental organizations to support their programs. On the other hand, the Chairperson of the Uganda Parliamentary Forum for Children (UPFC), Mutyabule Florence shared her experience with her South Sudanese counterparts. With 7 years experience since the UPFC was formed in 2005, Mutabule said that they have worked hard with support from Save the Children Uganda to ensure the respect of the rights of children in her country is upheld. She further called on the group to influence the budget and mobilize finances for the welfare of the children. Nyapal Peter Kuang who spoke on behalf of the children called on the government to focus on their education and that many of the children are now involved in drinking and smoking. He added that free school for the children would empower the future generations. She also called on the government to ensure their security since they were vulnerable. Meanwhile the UNICEF representative, Dr. Yasmin Ali Hague reiterated their commitment to work with the government of South Sudan and the lobby group. Dr. Yasmin Ali Hague added that there is still a lot of work to be done and that 2,000,000 children in South Sudan are schooling while the same number are yet to be in school. Posted in: Home -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob?hl=en.
