A Non Governmental Organisation(NGO)Attah Sisters Helping Hand Foundation (ASHHF) has appealed to Bauchi State Government to domesticate the Child Right Act to prevent violence against children.
ASHHF Executive Director, Miss Comfort Attah, made the appeal in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bauchi on Monday.
He pointed out that children are faced with different kinds of violence, abuse and exploitation in the state, saying that the perpetrators of such crimes are not being brought to book.
“Education and health are two critical rights the act provides for, children must be educated free of charge. They must have adequate and unhindered access to good healthcare.
“Are we really providing all of these to children in the state,” she said.
According to her, Child Rights Act 2003 was created to serve as a legal document and protection for children’s rights and responsibility in Nigeria.
She explained that the act will protect the welfare of every child and therefore appealed to the state government to domesticate it in the best interest of children in the state.
“Therefore, today is world children’s day. I will like to make an appeal on government to please look at the Child Rights Act as a centre of our future to domesticate the law in the state for the safety of our children against danger.
‘The danger is that if the Child Right Act is not domesticated, perpetrators of children abuse will continue to go unpunished and even when they are punished, they get lighter jail terms,” she said.
Attah added that failure of the state not domesticate the act had impeded efforts by international agencies like UNICEF to implement children’s programmes in the state because there is no law backing such programmes.

“It is unfortunate to say that children’s access to justice is almost non-existent in the state as some children are kept in detention centres like adults for long time.

-NAN

BE

– May 27, 2019 @ 18:05 GMT |