She made the call at the Ministry of Social Welfare conference hall in Freetown.
She said on November 20th, they joined the rest of the world to celebrate the Universal Children’s Day, adding that the goal of the celebration was to improve child welfare worldwide, promote and celebrate children’s rights and promote togetherness and awareness amongst all children.
She said as children in Sierra Leone, they did not only celebrate the day but also partnered with Save the Children to do a 9-day media outreach program to address their colleagues across the country, government officials and other stakeholders on issues affecting children.
She went on to state that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child covers the rights of every child in Sierra Leone, including their rights to education, safety, protection and health.
She added that quite recently, UNICEF and Statistics Sierra Leone launched a report called Multi-Dimensional Child Poverty in Sierra Leone, stating that the rate of poverty among children in that report was disheartening.
She called on government and other stakeholders to take a stand and make sure that children are being taken away from poverty as indicated in the report and to also ensure that children are assured of their well-being as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
She maintained that government cannot achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and end poverty by the year 2030 when children are still suffering in the country.
According to her, the country has gone a long way with some aspects in the implementation of the UNCC, noting that from the end of the 11 years civil war to date, children are now given the opportunity to speak up for their rights in the country and discuss other issues affecting them.
She said the introduction of the free quality education by the current government is a great step that complements the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.