AMISOM Protection, Gender and Human Rights Unit convened a four (4) day consultative workshop to work on the drafting of Somalia first policy on Child protection in the country’s capital Mogadishu.
The workshop that was conducted jointly by Federal Government of Somalia, civil Society and supported by AMISOM discussed how the policy can be further developed to ensure protection and welfare of the rights of children.
The policy will be implemented based on the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in order to guide the process of developing legislation and implementation of an Action Plan that will promote equal rights and opportunities for children in the specific context of Somalia.
During the four days consultations workshops, participants will work together to identify key areas of priorities, challenges and strategies to tackles child issues while learning from other countries.
The Minister of Women and Human Rights Honorable Khadija Mohamed Diriye thanked AMISOM and Civil Society groups for the initiative saying that the policy will be in line with the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of Children and the Gender Policy.
“The policy will assist our government in monitoring, reporting and taking necessary measures to improve the rights of children in the country because children are the future generation of this country”.
Speaking during the workshop, Kaoutar Kaddouri, AMISOM Women and Child Protection Officer noted the importance of engaging government, civil society, youth activists, religious leaders, Elders on the discussions aimed to address the protection of the future generation of this country.
“The Somali Government is on the right path in building its human rights machinery and today is an example; it’s a great initiative and this is a great collaboration between Somali Federal government and AMISOM in drafting the policy on child protection.” Said Ms Kaoutar Kaddouri.
AMISOM Chief of Staff Ambassador Epiphanie Kabushemeye Ntamwana welcomed the formulation of the policy saying this is a big milestone towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
“The African Union remains highly committed to taking concrete actions in supporting the Federal Government of Somalia to continue the efforts to tackle child issues and set relevant strategies to tackle them” said Ambassador Epiphanie.
AMISOM Protection, Gender and Human Rights Unit continues engagement with different stakeholders to support the process of developing policy and legislation that will protect the men, women and children of Somalia. Last year the Government supported by AMISOM drafted Gender policy which focused on four main areas, women economic empowerment, women participation in Politics, equal access for health and Education formen, women and children.
