Uganda Child Rights NGO Network (UCRNN) is a coalition of community based, national and international civil society organizations (CSOs) working to promote the observance of child rights in Uganda. UCRNN was formed in 1997 and has been a CSO hub for monitoring the implementation of and adherence to child rights instruments at national, regional and international level. UCRNN works with and through its members to further collective advocacy, collective monitoring, information sharing and joint research initiatives on children's issues.

 

Today, Uganda joins other African Countries to mark the international Day of the African Child (DAC) under the theme "Child Participation: Children to be Heard and Seen." This annual event is held in commemoration of black school children who were murdered in Soweto, South Africa in 1976 following street demonstrations in protest of the quality of education offered to the black children.

 

UCRNN is inspired by the courage of these children and their aspiration to make the world fit for children. It is a reminder to Governments to recognize and address the plight of African children today. Children's right to participation is rooted in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, 1989), ratified by Uganda in 1990.

 

The Convention obliges State Parties to assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of a child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child. The right to participation of children is further recognized in the regional African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) and domestic legislation including the national Constitution, the Children Act (CAP.

 

59) and the Local Government Act (Cap. 243). Participation as a child right has in the past not received adequate attention compared to the survival, development and protection rights. Deservedly, there is growing recognition that child participation is not new in the African setting.

 

All African societies practiced child participation-engaging children in discussions and involving them in decision making through songs, stories and folklore among other media. A clear understanding of what participation is and development of knowledge and skills on how to involve children at all levels is important.

It is incumbent upon the adults to pave the way for children to be heard and seen. The benefits of children's participation to children, families and communities, organizations, politicians, the nation and the world are enormous. Participation ensures proper identification of children's priorities, reinforces effectiveness and sustainability of programmes, builds trust and harmony, inculcates democratic values, and provides children with skills for coping with challenges of life now and in the future.

 

With child participation, everyone is a winner!

UCRNN believes that child participation is a process and not an event. To be a catalyst for child participation requires guidance, care and support. By 2006, the need for a clear guideline on child participation was more than ever evident. Child actors in Uganda demanded for tips, tools and techniques for involving children.

 

UCRNN is pleasantly overwhelmed to have worked with the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) and UNICEF-Uganda Country Office to develop the National Child Participation Guide. The launch of the Guide on this day is timely as its purpose augurs well with the theme of the event- Child Participation: Children to be heard and seen! The objectives of the Guide are to provide organizations with a clear approach and methodology on how to involve children and stimulate action towards providing a safe environment and space that promotes the participation of children at the family, community and institutions.

 

The Guide that targets organizations/institutions (schools, health care providers, legal institutions, probation and welfare institutions, local councils, NGOS, CBOs and the media) provides tips, tools and techniques for engaging children.

 

As we mark this day, UCRNN makes a passionate appeal to national and local leaders, civil society and the general public to:

_ Recognize that children have their own views and opinions

_ Allow children's views to shape the world for the better-help identify and analyze problems and propose solutions to them.

_ Provide space and support for children to fully engage in matters that affect their lives

_ Acknowledge that participation facilitates the realization of children's rights to survival, protection and development

_ Engage in dialogue with children as a means of collectively mapping out remedies for life's challenges

_ Appreciate the role child participation plays in enhancing the fulfillment of children's responsibilities

_ Note that meaningful child participation takes into consideration the best interests of the child.

If we heed to this call, we shall all reap the benefits of children's participation.

 

For more information, please contact UCRNN Secretariat;

Plot 18, Tagore Crescent, Kamwokya

P.O Box 10293, Kampala (U)

Tel: 256-414-543548

Fax: 256-414-543548

E-mail: info@ucrnn.net

Website: www.ucrnn.net