Below is a statement issued today by the PPP/C on the occasion of International Children’s Day 2016
The Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) joins millions worldwide in celebrating International Children’s Day, today.
It was at the World Conference for the Well-being of Children in 1925 that a day was set aside to this effect, before June 1st was reserved by the Women’s International Democratic Federation in 1949 in Moscow.
On International Children’s Day, we observe the progress made in securing and protecting the rights of the child across the world, and the distance we are yet to cover in guaranteeing a safe and healthy environment for the development of our children.
Child protection, well-being, security and development are anchored in the guiding principles of the Peoples Progressive Party Civic, which has contributed since its establishment, to fostering a better future for Guyanese children.
Our commitment to providing a favourable environment in which children can grow, has manifested through a legacy of ground-breaking initiatives undertaken both during our tenure in Government as well as in the main Opposition.
Some of these include the establishment of the Progressive Youth Organisation (PYO) in 1952 as well as the Pioneer Youth Organisation at the Enmore Hindi School on June 1st, 1979.
It was under the Peoples Progressive Party Civic Government, that the National Commission for Survival, Protection and Development of Children was established in 1993. The Commission headed by late President Janet Jagan, was responsible for issuing the National Plan of Action designed to promote the rights of the child.
In March 1998, under the Peoples Progressive Party Civic, the National Commission on the Rights of the Child (NCRC) was launched as a successor to the National Commission for Survival, Protection and Development of Children. Among the tasks undertaken by the NCRC was the National Plan of Action.
In January 2009, the Child Care and Protection Act 2-2009 was adopted in Parliament under the Peoples Progressive Party Civic, and the Child Care and Protection Agency was later established in July 2009
In a step to further secure children’s rights, the Peoples Progressive Party Civic in November 2011 signed an agreement with the UNICEF, as a symbol of the party’s commitment to prioritizing children’s rights in the country’s future development and policy making.
The Peoples Progressive Party /Civic ensured that significant results were produced under the Millennium Development Goals designed to promote children’s rights. Consequently, universal primary education progressed at a primary school enrolment rate of 95 percent by 2000 (MDG 2). Child mortality was also reduced by two-thirds by 2015, subsequently achieving the targets set out by MDG 4.
The Peoples Progressive Party / Civic notes that despite the tremendous strides made in the past to promote child rights and development, children in Guyana are still faced with social and economic challenges. The party has observed the move by the APNU + AFC coalition Government to slash social welfare programmes impacting education, such as the Because We Care $10 000 voucher per child which removes much needed financial assistance in procuring school items. It has also taken note of the inadequacies in the school feeding programme, which have recently surfaced and affect primary school children in the Hinterland.
The Party believes that the Government must double its efforts to ensure that children are not hindered from accessing their fundamental human rights.
The Peoples Progressive Party Civic also remembers the thousands of children in the world, who are plagued by hunger, poverty and wars, as well as those who are forced to flee their homes and those who have perished in so doing.
We believe that a stronger judicial system must be enacted to bring parties responsible for the violation of children’s rights to bear the full brunt of the law. To this end, we support the call made by Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and UN Special Envoy for Global Education, Mr. Gordon Browne, for the establishment of an International Children’s Court.
In ending, the Peoples Progressive Party invites all members of the public to join in its activities held to commemorate International Children’s Day today. Activities will be launched through the Progressive Youth Organisation (PYO) across the country.
In Region 2, children will be painting a mural and in Region 4, cultural events will be hosted. In Region 5, a concert and gift programme will be organised while Region 6 a feeding programme will take place in 5 orphanages.
