Various schools in Dominica organized activities to mark the occasion as Dominica joined the rest of the world in celebrating Universal Children’s Day.
The event is celebrated annually on 20th November.
The goal of Universal Children’s day is to improve child welfare worldwide, promote and celebrate children’s rights and promote togetherness and awareness amongst all children.
Initially launched in 1954, Universal Children’s day has seen some milestone events in the field of child welfare. Marking the anniversary of the dates when the UN General assembly adopted both the declaration and convention of children’s rights. The convention sets out a number of children’s rights such as the rights to be protected from violence and discrimination and the rights to life, health and education.
To celebrate Universal Children’s Day, a wide range of events take place worldwide in organisations as diverse as schools, charities, businesses and governments. It is described as “A fun day with a serious message” by the UN when children get the opportunity to take over high profile roles in the media, politics and sports to raise awareness of challenges faced by children. On social media, these takeovers and other events will be shared using the hashtag #worldchildrensday
More information about Universal Children’s Day, including a downloadable information pack and a child-friendly version of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, can be found at www.un.org/events.
Under the theme, Children are taking over and turning the world blue, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is marking the occasion of Universal Children’s Day by launching a petition to call on world leaders to commit to fulfilling the rights of every child and acknowledge that these rights are non-negotiable.
The post on the UNICEF’s website states that children have their rights denied ever single day. “We want to build a world where every child is in school and learning, safe from harm and able to fulfill their potential, and we know you do too. It’s time to put children back on the agenda,” UNICEF declares.
The child has the right to have sex at sixteen. Then its the parent responsibilty to take care of that child until eighteen even if she gets pregnant as a result.
A fundamental right for a child, is the right to have both a father and a mother in their life. They were not created by one alone and they should not be denied the support and love of both, either through neglect or by biased divorce rulings in favour of the mother.
Children need both fathers and mothers, and the absence of the former is the root of many of our social problems.
Thirty years ago I published a pamphlet titled: The Rights to a Father. It’s contents are all the more relevant today.