Speaking on the occasion, according to a statement released by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Buhari said, “the incidence of a single violation of children rights in any country is an indelible dent on the African consciousness”.
For the records, Children’s rights are a subset of human rights with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to minors.
In 1989 something incredible happened. Against the backdrop of a changing world order, world leaders came together and made a historic commitment to the world’s children.
They made a promise to every child to protect and fulfil their rights, by adopting an international legal framework – the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Contained in this treaty is a profound idea that children are not just objects who belong to their parents and for whom decisions are made, or adults in training. Rather, they are human beings and individuals with their own rights.
These include the right to life, survival and development; protection from violence, abuse or neglect; an education that enables children to fulfil their potential; be raised by, or have a relationship with, their parents, and express their opinions and be listened to.
President Buhari himself acknowledged these rights in Ethiopia when he urged African countries and stakeholders on the continent to work fervently towards strengthening the protection of children from the six grave violations during armed conflict.
The six grave violations, he said, are killing and maiming of children, recruitment or use of children as soldiers, sexual violence against children, abduction of children, attacks against schools or hospitals and denial of humanitarian access for children.
He accordingly expressed concern, confirming that these grave violations against children have continued unabated, even in his country.
Fifty-seven of the girls escaped shortly after the kidnap. Another 107 were either rescued or released after negotiations while 112 remain in captivity.
The President Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) government came into power on the promise of securing the country from external and internal threats, making it look as if the masses caused a big problem by voting in the government.
The News Guru Analysis
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