Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
~ Child abuse a theme, priority ~
PHILIPSBURG--The Department of Youth Affairs has announced that it is launching an official awareness campaign in observance of International Day of the Rights of the Child, November 20.
The campaign is a collaborative effort of the Department of Youth Affairs, the Department of Sports, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), schools and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and aims to bring awareness to children, parents and the community about children's rights.
"Child abuse," the theme for this year's campaign, will be spearheaded under the slogan "My Rights to My Protection, My Freedom from Abuse." The theme addresses articles 35, 36 and 37 of the Convention of the Rights of the Child and was deemed appropriate by the department considering the spate of reported child abuse incidents since the beginning of 2014.
Consideration also was given based on the United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF report entitled "The Situation of Children and Adolescents on St. Maarten" which focused primarily on child protection. Owing to this, the "Rights of the Child" stakeholders committee decided that the subject required more attention and saw it appropriate to raise awareness on this issue on a vast societal level.
This year's calendar of events, as has become customary, will see activities hosted by various stakeholders. Activities kicked off on Saturday, November 15, with a children's bike-a-thon and Family Fun Day hosted by St. Maarten Early Childhood Development Association.
The event started at Raoul Illidge Sport Complex and ended at Jose Lake Ball Park with various children's activities.
Next, UNESCO and the St. Maarten Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) Foundation will open a week-long exhibition on children's rights at Philipsburg Jubilee Library November 19-28.
On November 20, several students and a St. Maarten Government delegation will attend an official ceremony organised by the French St. Martin Collectivité. This will be followed by a youth discussion and will include selected students from Dutch St. Maarten, French St. Martin and Anguilla. A children's movie night on the theme of child abuse will be hosted by the St. Maarten Promoting Young Ambassadors Foundation on the same night.
The Youth Parliament will be making a presentation on the Convention of the Rights of the Child to the Members of Parliament at the Parliament Building November 21 at 4:00pm. A Department of Youth Affairs official also will be making a presentation on child abuse developments on a policy level. This presentation will be aired live on television.
On Saturday, November 22, the annual Rights of the Child Sports Day will be held in Marigot, French St. Martin, which will include friendly competitions in track and field, volleyball, tennis, basketball and football.
Finally, on November 28, Voice of Our Children will host its annual panel discussion at Belair Community Center. Other activities also are scheduled and will be hosted by the French St. Martin Collectivité.
Strides in local children's rights
Many individuals in the community have contributed to the cause of the rights of children over the years, by organising various activities that endeavoured to empower them. Radio programmes, uniformed groups and performing arts were among their ambitious undertakings.
The importance of recognising the Rights of Children in St. Maarten began as early as 1978 when Mavis Salmon-Brooks and Dr. Linda Banks wrote the lyrics of a song entitled "Our Rights" for a children's song festival. The developments on children rights in St. Maarten have been steady throughout the years since then.
The former Department of Social and Cultural Development formulated policy and laws in benefit of children on the island. The now existing Youth Policy, finalised in October 2006, can be considered one of the direct tangibles stemming from the convention that was signed and ratified by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1996.
The Department of Social and Cultural Development (DSCD) jumpstarted its campaign strategy by 2004 by employing a unified approach in bringing awareness regarding children's rights to the community. An inter-governmental agreement was forged between the Island Government of St. Maarten and the Commune of St. Martin during that year to jointly organise and host activities for the whole island. This cooperation has now resulted in the further inclusion of Saba, St. Eustatius and Anguilla in the annual programmes.
The former DSCD, the Commune and children's rights advocates groups Federation Antillean Youth, the White and Yellow Cross, I Can Foundation, MPO, Safe Haven, SIFMA and Victorious Living Foundation celebrated St. Maarten's first week of activities for "The Rights of the Child" awareness campaign in 2005, thus officially marking the 10th consecutive year of observing the Convention.
Since the UNICEF report, the Department of Youth Affairs is representing St. Maarten on a regional and international level. The department has been involved and has participated in the Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Conference held in Aruba in April.
The report was studied by the Kingdom partners and established that a Kingdom Taskforce should be instituted to develop collectively an action plan based on its recommendations that should include child abuse as a priority area. St. Maarten is scheduled to attend another Kingdom Taskforce consultation in the Netherlands in November this year to present its draft plan of action.
Ten years later, in an effort to advocate the rights and privileges of children on the island, the Department of Youth Affairs strives to hone its reputation among the youth by fostering a sense of involvement, by creating more policy and implementing diverse programmes and activities that aim to "Inspire, Educate and Empower."
