In such cases, further delays will exacerbate the problems particularly in countries where child labour is institutionalized and has the tendency to encourage human trafficking with its attendant social evils like juvenile prostitution.
Imagine what a child, growing up in such conditions, will become later in life. Allow me to quote the words of one of our Holy Text that says “help me love, help me care, help me smile, help me share. Help me give, help me grow, help me laugh, help me know”. This is a child speaking.
Fellow citizens, if we reflected on these innocent appeals by the child, we will come to appreciate that the natural instinct of the human being is to do good and more so, to want to do good.
Fellow citizens, if we reflected on these innocent appeals by the child, we will come to appreciate that the natural instinct of the human being is to do good and more so, to want to do good.
But too often the child is swayed by the unconstructive characteristics of life and invariably, by what it learns from others for it is said “teach your son or daughter and you teach their sons or daughters”.
Today’s analysis notes with deep sadness that some 350 thousand children die in any one year globally and even more graphically is the fact that 22 thousand children die everyday around the world. Imagine 22 thousand funerals each week and all because of child abuse. The statistics show that this type of mortality supercedes natural causes and incurable diseases.
We in the Caribbean and in particular Trinidad and Tobago have some slight challenges and however small the numbers, we consider them unacceptable, especially when these crimes are committed by persons whose circumstances are influenced by different social dislocations.
Only recently, the village of Gasparillo was thrown into mourning when nine year old Daniel Guerra’s body was discovered in a nearby Ravine with varying theories and lingering versions as to the cause of death.
The nation will recall that Daniel’s gruesome demise was the cornerstone by which I issued publicly, “The Daniel Guerra Decree” in which I stated categorically that no stone will be left unturned in the fight against criminality and in particular against the children of the nation.
Today’s analysis notes with deep sadness that some 350 thousand children die in any one year globally and even more graphically is the fact that 22 thousand children die everyday around the world. Imagine 22 thousand funerals each week and all because of child abuse. The statistics show that this type of mortality supercedes natural causes and incurable diseases.
We in the Caribbean and in particular Trinidad and Tobago have some slight challenges and however small the numbers, we consider them unacceptable, especially when these crimes are committed by persons whose circumstances are influenced by different social dislocations.
Only recently, the village of Gasparillo was thrown into mourning when nine year old Daniel Guerra’s body was discovered in a nearby Ravine with varying theories and lingering versions as to the cause of death.
The nation will recall that Daniel’s gruesome demise was the cornerstone by which I issued publicly, “The Daniel Guerra Decree” in which I stated categorically that no stone will be left unturned in the fight against criminality and in particular against the children of the nation.
It is my firm believe that the death of one child, whether through mental or physical abuse, is reprehensible in every sense and robs that human being of its fullest potential and society of its possible input.
But make no mistake, my government will, as a matter of urgency; take to the Parliament, the Children’s Authority Bill that will protect the Rights of the Child. Once again, we are leading the way for as you know; governments of the past have failed to effect legislation that protects the children of our land.
In this regard, we are ahead of many nations and have been rewarded in the latest Commonwealth survey that cites Trinidad and Tobago as one of the third best places in the world to grow a girl child.
Not surprisingly, this is consistent with the value we, as a nation, place on human development and with my government’s determination to balance the equity gender scales, Trinidad and Tobago will become an even better paradise, where all children, girls and boys, can live in safe environments.
In this regard, we are ahead of many nations and have been rewarded in the latest Commonwealth survey that cites Trinidad and Tobago as one of the third best places in the world to grow a girl child.
Not surprisingly, this is consistent with the value we, as a nation, place on human development and with my government’s determination to balance the equity gender scales, Trinidad and Tobago will become an even better paradise, where all children, girls and boys, can live in safe environments.
This is in tandem with UNICEF’s mission to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF is guided in doing this by the provisions and principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Built on varied legal systems and cultural traditions, the Convention is a universally agreed set of non-negotiable standards and obligations. These basic standards—also called human rights—set minimum entitlements and freedoms that should be respected by governments.
They are founded on respect for the dignity and worth of each individual, regardless of race, colour, gender, language, religion, opinions, origins, wealth, birth status or ability and therefore apply to every human being everywhere.
With these rights comes the obligation on both governments and individuals not to infringe on the parallel rights of others. These standards are both interdependent and indivisible in that we cannot ensure some rights without—or at the expense of—other rights.
But abuse comes in other forms such as neglect and uncontrolled economic circumstances such as poverty where the impact is seen in chronic undernutrition that occurs before age two and has irreversible effects.
The lack of education for 100 million primary school children in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia is also worrying. This is diametrically different to our situation where we enjoy universal Primary, Secondary and Tertiary education and my government is working assiduously at achieving, within the shortest possible time frame, universal pre-school education.
Another worrying concern is the number of young children living with HIV/Aids. According to the latest figures, of the 33.4 million people worldwide, 4.9 million were young people 15-24 years old and 2.1 million were under 15.
Girls and young women are especially vulnerable to HIV infections and from a worldwide perspective, more than 60 percent of all young people living with HIV are young women. The probing question here is how and when will these affected countries, achieve their Millennium Development Goals?
So on this day, as we think of the hundreds of thousands of children all over the world who are the victims of abuse and aggression, we say a little prayer for them that soon, their governments will do what is morally right and proclaim laws that will protect them.
Built on varied legal systems and cultural traditions, the Convention is a universally agreed set of non-negotiable standards and obligations. These basic standards—also called human rights—set minimum entitlements and freedoms that should be respected by governments.
They are founded on respect for the dignity and worth of each individual, regardless of race, colour, gender, language, religion, opinions, origins, wealth, birth status or ability and therefore apply to every human being everywhere.
With these rights comes the obligation on both governments and individuals not to infringe on the parallel rights of others. These standards are both interdependent and indivisible in that we cannot ensure some rights without—or at the expense of—other rights.
But abuse comes in other forms such as neglect and uncontrolled economic circumstances such as poverty where the impact is seen in chronic undernutrition that occurs before age two and has irreversible effects.
The lack of education for 100 million primary school children in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia is also worrying. This is diametrically different to our situation where we enjoy universal Primary, Secondary and Tertiary education and my government is working assiduously at achieving, within the shortest possible time frame, universal pre-school education.
Another worrying concern is the number of young children living with HIV/Aids. According to the latest figures, of the 33.4 million people worldwide, 4.9 million were young people 15-24 years old and 2.1 million were under 15.
Girls and young women are especially vulnerable to HIV infections and from a worldwide perspective, more than 60 percent of all young people living with HIV are young women. The probing question here is how and when will these affected countries, achieve their Millennium Development Goals?
So on this day, as we think of the hundreds of thousands of children all over the world who are the victims of abuse and aggression, we say a little prayer for them that soon, their governments will do what is morally right and proclaim laws that will protect them.
Moreover, the global community must be ever vigilant in this universal campaign upon which we in Trinidad and Tobago have embarked to secure the rights of every child. We do so by asking ourselves a few questions. How can we love our own children and hate the neighbours’. How can we neglect others and protect our own. I say to you here today that saving the children is the responsibility of us all, for if they perish, the future is doomed.
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