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Thursday, March 28, 2024

BTA seeks support for child rights

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Cotabato City—The parliament of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority has adopted a resolution calling on the legislative body to help provide support to the Bangsamoro Children’s Declaration in commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children.

BTA seeks support for child rights
UNICEF Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific Karin Hulshof and UNICEF Philippines Representative Oyun Dendevnorov (middle, front row) pose with Bangsamoro youth representatives at the Bangsamoro Transition Authority Parliament. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and World Children’s Day on Nov. 20 November, the Parliament passed a resolution calling for the BTA’s full support of the Bangsamoro Children’s Agenda. UNICEF Philippines

Authored by Bangsamoro Social Welfare Minister Raissa Jajurie, BTA Parliament Resolution 147 was overwhelmingly co-authored by practically all the 60 BTA parliament members present during Wednesday’s deliberation.

Bangsamoro children are among the poorest in the country and are left behind under all major indicators of development:

· Child poverty is highest in BARMM at 63.1 percent, twice as high as the national average at 31.4 percent; at least 1.6 million out of 2.5 million children in BARMM are living below the poverty line.

· An estimated 260,000 children are not in school, and only one in five children from those enrolled complete elementary education.

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· Every year, 400,000 adolescents who could be in school are not.

· Around 300,000 children below the age of 5 or one in two children are chronically malnourished and stunted, compared to one in three children stunted nationwide.

· Less than 30 per cent of infants are fully vaccinated.

· At least 70 percent of children do not have access to toilets at home and over 30 percent of schools are without toilets.

“Almost 30 years after the Philippines ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, far too many children are still left behind particularly in BARMM,” said Karin Hulshof, UNICEF Regional Director for East Asia and Pacific.

“CRC, in its 30th year, is about building on the gains address the unfinished business. It is about to reinvigorating the efforts to end disparities and deprivations children continue to suffer,” she added.

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