Children’s Day: Gombe State CPN calls for eradication of barriers
In the spirit of children’s day celebration, the Gombe State coordinator of the Child Protection Network CPN, Dr Lucy Usen, has called for the the eradication of barriers that violate the rights of children .
Addressing the press at the Centre for Community Health and Development International CHAD Office Federal Lowcost, Usen who is the Executive Director of CHAD said the Child has the right for survival, protection and development.
She said children’s day is dedicated to celebrate children across the globe to give them a sense of belonging.
The Executive Director commended the Gombe State Government for the passage of the Child Protection Law and the establishment of safe shelter for survivors of gender based violence.
Usen also gave findings of a joint national assessment on situation of children in conflict with the law and deprived liberty conducted collaboratively with National Legal Aid Council ,National Human Right Commission and CPN.
She said many children are in conflict with the law and are lock up in several places under going form of correctional measures.
The state coordinator noted that the CPN is interested with correctional measures that are standardized and in line with rights of children.
She said key informant interview and focused group discussion were used as tools to look at the situation of children in conflict with law .
Usen said the key findings included that there are children under eighteen years lock up in correctional centres with adults
She explained that these children are to be kept in remand homes .
She said the remind home is place for the rehabilitation of children, to make them change from the wrong path to survive and develop as responsible citizens .
The CPN state coordinator said some of the children at the correctional centre are sexually abused and forced into homosexuals, while some are bullied .
She then recommended for the functionality of the remind home, provision of some basic amenities,after which the need for a psychologist, medical doctor to visit weekly for counselling and medical care will be required.
“We cannot give up on children in conflict with the law, they need reformation to become better citizens in future, some of them we talked with said they want to leave the correction center for good. I know of a child who was once in the remand home,but today he is reformed and now a professional in his field .The child should not be mixed up criminals who will give them bad orientation, grown into becoming harden criminals,” Usen added.
The CPN boss also recommended for the provision of a Nanny at the remand home and other key officers to cater for the reformation of the children.
The Gombe State Deputy Coordinator of CPN Umar Aliyu Dadin Kowa, called for collaborative effort to discipline children.
He called on parents to ensure proper upbringing of their children for them to grow and become responsible and useful to society,
