CANKUZO December 27th (ABP) –Members of children’s protection communities and stakeholders in the protection of children’s rights pledged on Thursday to actively contribute, through their daily actions, to the promotion and protection of the rights of the child, in particular by raising parents’ awareness of the rights of the child.
The Family and Community Development Center (CDFC) held at the headquarters of the Cankuzo province (eastern Burundi) on Thursday, December 26, in collaboration with the Provincial Child Protection Committee, an evaluation meeting on the state of child protection in that province, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.
That meeting was attended by members of child protection committees, both provincial and communal, associations working in the sector of human rights as well as those in the sector of education and justice.
The socio-cultural adviser of the governor of Cankuzo, Mr. Ferdinand Birahanyi, at the same time chairman of the said committee, commended the state of development in the sector of child protection in Cankuzo, giving the example of street child phenomenon that has been completely eradicated in that province.
He explained that this situation is the result of joint efforts between the administration, security agents and other human rights partners.
The socio-cultural adviser of the governor also deplored the fact that there are still some households of civil servants who still employ minors of school age in their households.
On that subject where the public prosecutor, Mr. Ferdinand Bazikwankana proposed that the administration in collaboration with the security agents identify such households to sanction them in accordance with the law.
The issue of children leaving school to go to Tanzania in search of money as well as the issue of children not registered in the State registers were also discussed. After having noticed together that this phenomenon is observed in almost all the communes of Cankuzo province, the education officials asked the administrative and security authorities to ensure security especially at the border posts in order to apprehend the adults who facilitate the transport of those children abroad and bring them to justice.
On the subject of children not entered in the civil status registers, the members of the said commission asked the administration to organize trips to the villages to make parents aware of the advantages of registering children in the documents of civil status services.
