Minister of Public Service and Administration of South Africa on Item 63(a) and
(b)Rights of the Child 61st session of the Third Committee of the General
Assembly New York
11 October 2006
Chairperson
President of the General Assembly, H.E Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa
Excellencies
Distinguished guests
Delegates
Representatives from civil society organisations
Ladies and gentlemen, children and Ms Cora Mayo Buala on behalf of all the
young people
Ten years ago, the United Nations (UN) authorised the first Study on the
Impact of Armed Conflict on Children which led to the establishment of the
initial mandate for war-affected children and the initiation of a strategic
agenda on their behalf. For us, it is with great pride that this study was led
by Ms Gra�a Machel, then the Secretary-General's Special Representative for
Children and Armed Conflict.
In 2002, the United Nations Special Session on Children in its outcome
documents "A World Fit for Children" adopted a set of goals that complement and
strongly reinforced the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
In 2007, we will mark the mid-decade point of the UN Special Session on
Children. It is time for all of us to take stock of our commitments to create a
better world for children, a world in which sustainable human development takes
into account the best interest of the child and is founded on principles of
democracy, equality, non-discrimination, peace and the universality of all
human rights, including the right to development.
South Africa attaches great importance to the promotion and protection of
the rights of children, as demonstrated by our ratification of the Convention
on the Rights of the Child, the most universally embraced human rights treaty
in history, and its Optional Protocols, as well as other international and
regional instruments relevant for children. These instruments ascribe
responsibility for governments to ensure child protective services and clearly
outlines what individual governments should do to safeguard children from
serious harm. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa also provides
for the protection and promotion of children's rights. For this reason, issues
on effective child protection and development are driven from the Office on the
Rights of the Child that is located in the Presidency.
Chairperson,
My delegation welcomes the Report of the Independent Expert on the Study on
Violence against Children, by Prof Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, as contained in
document number A/61/299. As South Africa, we look forward to building a
society in which violence against children will no longer exist. We look
forward to building this society globally.
We were honoured to have held the national and regional consultations on the
report on the Study on Violence against Children. We hope that our insights may
have assisted the panel of experts that was instrumental in the preparation for
this report. In principle, we support the recommendations of the report and we
align ourselves with the statement to be delivered by Namibia on behalf of
Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Chairperson,
Violence against children is complex and takes place in various settings
outlined in the study, such as the home and family; schools; the justice system
and the workplace. For example, violence in schools consists of peer violence
and teacher-learner violence. Policies need to be developed and implemented to
ensure prevention of this kind of violence.
One of our major achievements in South Africa is the abolition of corporal
punishment. Our Government has passed the Schools Act to ensure that our
schools are safer places for children. We have also identified many forms of
school violence such as bullying and sexual violence. We have come up with
innovative ways of implementing the Girls Education Movement (GEM) and Boys
Education Movement (BEM) to ensure that even among peers we cultivate a spirit
of dual care and support. The programme called "I am my sister's keeper" has
seen boy-children becoming more and more protective of their female
counterparts. Other initiatives aimed at eliminating violence in schools
include: Adopt-a-Cop collaboration between Safety and Security and the
Department of Education and the Prosecutors' Adopt a School project.
With regard to child violence in the home and family, we have had to be more
innovative because this type of violence is not easy to detect. We are acutely
aware that this form of violence is difficult to report because of the
difficult situations that children often find themselves in. This may be due to
fear, loss of community, loss of support, shame and self-blame; all reasons why
children would elect not to report violence at home and within the family.
Areas of intervention often straddle the need for healthy parenting, education
and the empowerment of children themselves. A culture of listening to and
hearing children on their needs must be encouraged and fostered. Let's pay
attention to the comments made by Cora Mayo Buala on behalf of young
people.
Furthermore, our national Constitution also guides us in the transformation
of our society to embrace traditions and customs to promote communities that
are protective of children in conformity with the Bill of Rights. When we
uphold and safeguard rights we have to be mindful of the value and premise of
our many traditions so that we remain vigilant not to allow the distortion,
misinterpretation, abuse and misuse of our cultural traditions. We must be
mindful of the difficulties faced by children in dealing with violence
committed against them by figures in authority due to their status in the
family and society. Communities are expected to exercise the duty of care in
the protection of children. The African adage that "My child is your child" and
that child protection is everyone's business is reinforced.
Chairperson,
The Criminal Justice System is in many instances not a child-friendly
environment. Therefore we must work hard to support it in dealing with cases of
rehabilitative and re-integrative options of dispute resolution and management.
In South Africa, the Ministries of Justice and Constitutional Development as
well as Social Development with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play a
pivotal and successful role in the implementation of "diversion programmes"
that have seen us diverting over 150 000 children away from the Criminal
Justice System, where they otherwise would have ended up with criminal
records.
Furthermore, in South Africa it is illegal for children under 15 years to be
employed. Should children over 15 years be employed, the employers are required
to comply with the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and other international
standards, such as those articulated by the International Labour Organisation
(ILO). However, there are situations in South Africa where children over 15
years who are employed in the informal economy such as domestic workers or farm
labourers, areas of work that are not well regulated.
In such areas, the violence that takes place in the workplace is often not
reported for fear of loss of income. This is where we utilise institutions like
the South African Human Rights Commission, an institution supporting
constitutional democracy. The Human Rights Commission has the powers, as
regulated by national legislation, necessary to perform its functions,
including the power to investigate and report on the observance of human
rights.
Chairperson,
The challenge is for Member States to live up to the commitments we have
made on the protection of our children by implementing strategies aimed at
eliminating violence against children in all its forms. Member States need to
make resources available and co-ordinate their strategies by sharing best
practices for maximum impact. Our common goal and objective towards a world
free of violence against children is achievable. The challenge is that in some
situations, there is an inadequate political will in the world of nations to
live up to all the promises made to ensure the protection and development of
children.
The UN has the unique power to convene the nations of the world. This
Assembly embodies the aspirations and hopes of people from around the world.
The UN is our village where we have to address all the concerns we face, the
most important being, how we take care of our children because a village
without children has no future. Another African adage that affirms this
approach to child protection and development is that "it takes a village to
raise a child."
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Public Services and Administration
11 October 2006
