By Derick Tsimba
Zimbabwe today has joined the rest of the continent to commemorate the Day of the African Child.
In a joint press statement today by Zimbabwe National Council for the Welfare of Children (ZNCWC), Students and Youths Working on reproductive Health Action Team (SAYWHAT) and the Child Rights Coalition (CRC), the coalition said the day is celebrated on the 16th of June every year to observe the 1976 student uprising in Soweto, South Africa, where students who marched in protest against apartheid-inspired education were brutally murdered.
The coalition also said it was in support of the Government of Zimbabwe for amending the constitution for the realisation of children’s rights.
“We commend the Government of Zimbabwe for the strides it has made in addressing the realisation of children’s rights and through the Constitution amendment 20 of 2013 Section 81 and subsequent alignment laws. We need to continue to strive to have an equal and conducive environment for all if we are to achieve the Africa we want, an Africa where there is Access to a Child-Friendly Justice System,” said the coalition.
This year the Day of the African Child theme is being commemorated under the theme “Access to a Child-Friendly Justice System in Africa.
