Joint effort key to protecting children’s rights

Delegates at the United Nations Civil Society Conference in Nairobi have reiterated that international collaboration should play a vital role in ensuring the protection and promotion of children and youth rights in today’s interconnected world.

Lyu Xiaoning, founder of Chinese NGO Viva la Vida, said working with children across the globe has demonstrated how cross-border collaboration can help make a difference in children’s lives.

“Our organization uses art to help children express and discover themselves. Through our partners, we have worked with children in Romania, Afghanistan, Kenya and China. It is this collaboration that has enabled us to help children across the world to share their authentic stories through art, explore the purpose of life and form genuine connections with others,” Lyu said.

It is only by collaboration that the organization has been able to build a global art community for children, especially those from marginalized social groups, to exchange ideas and stories by drawing, she said.

Viva la Vida partners with local NGOs in major cities to set up small art stations. It also hosts free art camps for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, empowering them to discover, express and forge their identities through art.

Xiao Ningning, deputy secretarygeneral of the Chinese Association for International Understanding, said Chinese NGOs support the development of child rights globally and frequently take part in international projects. They are also ready to expand their networks to assist more disabled children in other developing parts of the world, Xiao said.

Joy Katunge, of the Kenya Alliance for Advancement of Children, called on civil societies not to relent in their roles as enforcers of rights, watchdogs, advocates for change and champions for collaboration.

Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, deputy executive director of UN Women, called on civil societies to build on the gains they have made, continue the discourse on equality and recommit to collaborating within member states for greater effect.

As next year marks the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, civil societies fighting for gender equality should come together and ensure their sentiments are accurately captured, she said.

The two-day conference, which concluded on Friday, was the first one to be held in Africa, bringing together more than 3,000 attendees, including senior UN officials, youth changemakers and representatives of civil societies, governments and academia.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres decried the reluctance of the international community to come together to tackle the crises afflicting the world today.

“Many international institutions mirror the world in which they were founded almost 80 years ago. Developing countries are underrepresented and underserved, and civil society is often marginalized,” he said.

The world needs to reform and revitalize multilateralism through international collaboration so that it reflects the realities of today, and is fit to face the challenges ahead, he said.