By ALISON ANIS
THE Department for Community Development in partnership with Save the children in PNG (SCiPNG) and United nation Children’s Fund (Unicef) have launched a landmark study on violence against children at the National Parliament to mark the celebration of International Children’s Day yesterday.
The launch of the study commissioned by United Nations secretary general was described as a huge milestone for the country, by United Nations development Fund (UNDP) country representative Jacqui Badcock.
“Papua New Guinea made a significant and powerful contribution towards this study which exposes the horrendous scale and impact of all forms of violence against children, highlighting the universality and magnitude of the problem,” Ms Badcock said.
She said the study also reflected the clear human rights obligations of UN member states such as Papua New Guinea to prevent and respond to all forms of violence against children.
“It also emphasises the need for multifaceted and coordinated solutions, bringing together different perspectives and professional expertise and engaging actively with children themselves.”
Minister Dame Carol Kidu launched the study yesterday in the presence of Secretary Joseph Klapat, SCiPNG and Unicef representatives and said “the study will help us set up a benchmark for development and keep us on our toes”.
“But children must not become an issue only for me to address me as Minister for Community Development.
A whole lot of government and society approach is needed for every policy development to protect our children.
“We need to get out of the mind frame that children’s issue is Carol’s business,” Dame Carol said.
She said the study, which PNG was a part of when it participated at the regional meeting on violence in Bangkok in 2005, will help PNG come up with its own assessment and adopt its own report.