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[av_heading heading=’Students taught on children’s rights’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”][/av_heading]
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ILOILO City – Protecting children starts with teaching them about their rights.
Student leaders from 67 elementary and secondary public schools here were recently oriented on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
UNCRC is an agreement signed by member states, and the Philippines is one of the signatories, according to Rosana Alfaras, executive director of the Iloilo Children Welfare Foundation (ICWF).
It is a human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children.
The Convention defines a child as any human being under the age of 18, unless the age of majority is attained earlier under national legislation.
Because the Philippines is a signatory, it must abide by the principles of UNCRC, said Alfaras.
“Duty-bearers, especially the government, should fulfill, protect and respect the rights of children,” said Alfaras.
Held at the Diamond Jubilee Hall (formerly Iloilo Social Hall), the orientation also included lectures on cyber bullying and illegal drugs.
The activity aimed to increase the knowledge of children on UNCRC, understand its importance, the principles that guide it, and promote UNCRC in the school setting.
The Convention acknowledges that children have the right to express their opinions and to have those opinions heard and acted upon when appropriate; to be protected from abuse or exploitation; and to have their privacy protected.
UNCRC also obliges signatory states to provide separate legal representation for a child in any judicial dispute concerning their care and asks that the child’s viewpoint be heard in such cases.
The Convention, too, forbids capital punishment for children./PN
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