Zanzibar’s
child rights law is the winner of the 2015 Future Policy Award on
securing children’s rights, beating 29 other nominated policies to the
prize. The Award will be presented at a ceremony in Geneva today by the
World Future Council, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UNICEF
during the 133rd IPU Assembly.
The
“Children’s Act” is an outstanding piece of legislation. It earned the
2015 Award for its balanced coverage of child abuse and violence against
children and for its promotion of child rights – two important topics
for children worldwide. Since the enactment of the law Zanzibar has seen
favourable and significant shift of social attitudes towards children.
The
Act lays the foundation for the establishment of a comprehensive
national child protection system to deal with cases of children in need
of care and protection and already notable achievements have been
recorded in its operationalization. These include the establishment of
district child protection committees, the establishment of Children’s
Courts, the designation of Police Gender and Children’s Desks in every
Police Station in Zanzibar and the roll out of training to social
welfare and frontline justice professionals. An exciting feature of
this legislation was the child consultation process which provides
young people with an understanding of the law and their rights. It gave
children a voice in the development of the legislation and resulted in
the establishment of over 200 Children’s Councils in the Isles.
On
learning about the Gold prize, Asha Abdullah, Principal Secretary of
the Zanzibar Ministry of Empowerment, Social, Welfare, Youth, Women and
Children said: “This is a great honour. The Award will not only raise
global awareness of our model of child rights legislation, but also
enhance our commitment to its implementation in Zanzibar.”
UNICEF
in Tanzania played a key role in providing the Government of Zanzibar
with technical and financial support in the development of the Act and
continues to provide assistance, with support from the European Union,
in working towards bringing the legislation from paper to practice. Dr.
Jama Gulaid, UNICEF Tanzania Country Representative congratulated the
Government of Zanzibar on receiving the Future Policy Award 2015 and
noted: ‘Hongera Sana, Zanzibar! UNICEF commends the Government and
people of Zanzibar for the broad consultation on the Act which
heightened public awareness of children’s rights. Child protection is
drawing attention from decision makers, media and communities in
Zanzibar’.
Birgithe
Lund-Henriksen, Chief of Child Protection for UNICEF in Tanzania,
added: ‘We are delighted to continue to support the roll out of the
Children’s Act 2011 in order to make a meaningful impact on the lives of
children in Zanzibar. We are particularly encouraged by the steps that
already have already been taken towards implementation and the real
ownership the frontline child protection professionals have demonstrated
over the new legislation in working to protect children in Zanzibar’.
Jakob
von Uexkull, Founder and Chair of the World Future Council, said: “This
prize celebrates policies that help us to do the right thing by
creating the right rules. Children are among the most vulnerable group
facing a host of the world’s emerging challenges. We need more laws that
support a just world and protect the rights of future generations.”
IPU
Secretary General Martin Chungong said: Parliaments can lead the
response against child abuse and violence by ensuring international
commitments on children’s rights are adhered to nationally through laws
that are effectively implemented and monitored. The winning policies can
only inspire parliaments and parliamentarians everywhere on concrete
action to take. ”
UNICEF
Executive Director Anthony Lake commended the recognition bestowed by
the awards: “Children’s rights are brought to life not through
pronouncements, but through practical action. Parliamentarians are
among UNICEF’s most important partners in driving that action and the
results it can achieve in children’s lives. We applaud the World Future
Council for spurring more parliamentarians to leverage their powers on
behalf of the world’s most disadvantaged and vulnerable children.”
The
Future Policy Award is the only award which honours policies rather
than people on an international level. The World Future Council will now
work to globally raise awareness of the winning model policies and
assist policy-makers to develop and implement similar initiatives.
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