C'RIVER MOWA BOSS TASKS STAKEHOLDERS ON CHILD RIGHTS LAW IMPLEMENTATION.

By: Rekpene Uket.

Cross River State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hon. Edema Irom has charged members of the State Child Rights Law Implementation Committee to be committed to ensuring effective implementation of the Cross River State Child Rights Law.

 Hon. Irom gave the charge at a two - Day Capacity Building Workshop recently organised by the Ministry of Women Affairs in conjunction with Save the Children Int'l for members of the State Child Rights Law Implementation Committee at Ogoja in Cross River State.

The Commissioner stated that the capacity building workshop was to acquaint members of the committee with adequate knowledge Child Rights, Child Labour and Protection as well as remediation programmes in Cross River State for effective implementation of the Law.

Participants at the workshop were drawn from line Ministries that handle issues related to children such as; Ministry of Women Affairs, Social welfare and Community Development, Education, Health, Information, Justice, Agriculture, State Planning Commission, Civil Society Organizations, Security Agencies, Traditional Rulers Council as well as the Cross River State Children Parliament.

Hon. Irom decried the alarming rate of urchins roaming the streets of Calabar metropolis, describing the menace as " time bomb waiting to explode" as well as the increased rate of Child Labour in Cocoa producing communities in the state with particular reference to Ikom, Etung and Boki Local Government Areas.

She charged participants to be willing and ready to make sacrifices noting that the essence of the programme was to enhance cross fertilization of ideas, team work as well as effective collaboration to facilitate optimal implementation of the Child Rights Law in the state.

In a brief overview of Save the Children Int'l programmes in Cross River State, the Field Operations Manager, Save the Children Int'l, Ogoja Field Office, Oluseyi Abejide posited that Save the Children Int'l is a  leading global independent organization committed to working with government and other stakeholders in promoting the Rights of children worldwide putting the most vulnerable children first, adding that, their vision is a world  in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation to inspire breakthrough in the way the world treats children.

According to Abejide, Save the Children Int'l has been in Cross River State since 2019,  their footprints are in eleven LGAs in the state, these include; Ogoja, Ikom, Boki, Etung, Akamkpa, Yala, Obubra amongst others.

Their projects include interventions on; Child Labour in Cocoa producing communities, Menstrual Health Hygiene and Management, Refugee Education, Water Sanitation and Hygiene, Humanitarian Response, Capacity Building amongst others.

 The workshop featured several paper presentations on Overview of the Cross River State Child Rights Law, Role of the State Child Rights Law Implementation Committee which was handled by a Human Rights Activist and Principal Counsel, Basic Rights Counsel Initiative, James Ibor Esq., Child Protection Concerns and Emerging Trends in Cross River State by Mr  Kebe  Ikpi, Overview of Child Trafficking and Labour in Cross River State by Mr. Jacob Oba and  Mr. Shadrach, Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Challenges and Prospects by Mr. Francis Esuk as well as the drafting of a two - year work plan for the Implementation of the Child Rights Law in Cross River State.

The programme also had interactive  and break- out sessions in which participants were given sections of the  Child Rights Law to study and dramatize to enhance their understanding and interpretation of the Law for effective implementation. It was indeed a rewarding experience.