The UN is asking South Sudan to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child that celebrates today 23 years.
The commemoration of the anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child is marked in Juba by a parliamentary debate on the rights of children and an art exhibition by children as a call to respect children’s rights.The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the first international instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights as children’s rights.
UNICEF’s Officer-in-Charge, Elizabeth Quaye said in a press release that South Sudan Child of Act of 2008 was a good example of how the Country made efforts to domesticate the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
She said one of the important rights under the convention is the Right to Protection from Marriage which is quite prevalent in South Sudan.
Ms Quaye noted that child marriage is being recognised as a serious problem, both as a violation of girls’ rights and as a hindrance to key development outcomes.
She called on the Government to ratify the Convention to cement these efforts and to ensure greater investment to its children.