Sioka calls for child-friendly justice system
Despite the adoption of laws that are specific to children by African governments and the considerable investment into their protection, scores of children are still unable to access or benefit from childfriendly justice systems in a meaningful way.
This was said by Minister of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare in a statement to mark the commemoration of the Day of the Namibian Child yesterday.
This year’s commemoration is held under the theme ‘Access to Child-friendly
Justice in Namibia during the Covid-19 pandemic’ and reflects on the challenges faced by children who find themselves in conflict with the law.
Sioka, in the joint statement with Unicef, availed to Nampa, said a childfriendly justice system will ensure the best interests of the child are given primary consideration.
“A child-friendly justice system should be a system that better serves and protects all children irrespective of their socioeconomic or cultural backgrounds,” said Sioka.
The Namibian government’s commitment to building a child-friendly justice system, the minister said, is evidenced through the enactment of the Child Care and Protection Act (Act No. 3 of 2015) that recognises fundamental principles of a child-friendly justice system.
The Act is in line with the Convention of the Rights on the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of Children and has resulted in various capacity development exercises of all key government officials to ensure the fundamental principles of a child-friendly justice system in the Act are adhered to.
Unicef Representative to Namibia Rachel Odede said when a child is believed to have committed a crime, the way the justice system responds can have a lifelong impact that will be either positive or negative.
“Following the principles established by the Convention on the Rights of a Child, we need to treat children with care, sensitivity and respect throughout any procedure or case, with special attention for their wellbeing and needs, and with full respect for their physical and psychological integrity, irrespective of their capacity or legal status.
This calls for our individual and collective effort, especially during emergencies such as the current Covid-19 pandemic,” Odede said.
She further said to address some of these challenges, in line with the implementation of the Child Care and Protection Act, the Namibian Police Force, in partnership with the Ministry of Justice, together with ministry of gender equality, embarked on a training for law enforcement officials, aimed at equipping them, as well as other officials in their response to child protection issues, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. - Nampa