James Hoth Mai, minister of Labor speaking during the launch of National Plan of Action for Children in South Sudan - Credit | Moyo Jacob/Eye Radio | April 14, 2022

The National Plan of Action for Children launched on Thursday will strengthen the implementation of South Sudan Child Act 2008, the minister of labor has said.

James Hoth Mai made the remarks on Thursday, during the launch of the National Plan of Action for Children in South Sudan.

It was organized by the ministry of gender, child and social welfare and Save the Children International Organization.

The 99 page document seen by Eye Radio intends to secure the inherent right for every child to enjoy a happy childhood and address the root causes that deter the healthy growth of children.

It provides the road map that links policy objectives to action programs and strategies and identifies indicators for monitoring progress.

Minister Hoth calls on the concerned institutions and the development partners to ensure the implementation of the action plan 2020-2024

He says the government will be embarking on the implementation process by the stakeholders at all levels of the government.

“It is our commitment as a government responsible for people in the Republic of South Sudan particularly to our children and promise to protect every child and fulfil their rights by adopting an international legal framework like United Nations convention on the right of the child and other relevant instrument like this National Plan of Action we are launching today,” James Hoth said.

For his part, Beny Gideon Mabor, the commissioner of South Sudan Human Rights Commission called for an end to violence against children, and encouraged the government to expend resources to realize the goals of the action plan.

“We must stop violence and embrace peace and stability. This is because peace is paramount so that children fully enjoy their potential right to life, to education and to development,” Beny Gideon said.

“The government needs to take into consideration this national action plan and put adequate financial and other material resources to ensure the full implementation of the national action plan.

“The Commission will side by side stand with the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare as well as other government partners to ensure the full implementation of this national action plan.”

Meanwhile, the Save the Children’s Director for Advocacy and Campaign says the action plan will support efforts towards creating a caring, protective and safe environment for children by reducing their vulnerability to keep them safe.

Muzamir Sebit said the children’s organization will work in collaboration with the government and other partners to strengthen the policies and systems to provide an enabling environment for children.

“The national plan of action for children in South Sudan will ultimately support our efforts to create a caring, protective and safe environment for every child by reducing their vulnerability in all stations to keep them safe at all times and in places especially in public spaces,” Save the Children’s Director for Advocacy and Campaign said.

“For us to achieve this, we will work in collaboration with the government, our International partners, the Local partners to strengthen the policies and systems so that children are able to survive, learn and be safe at all times and in all places.

“As Save the Children International, we will support the government with the dissemination and also implementation of a national plan of action in the areas we can in order to make the rights of children a reality in our society.”

The developed document is aligned to the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child which the Country ratified in 2015.

It also aligns with the Regional instrument known as the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child including the Child Act 2008.

The national plan of action for children will play a direct implementation role through the Child Act 2008.

It also articulates and analyses priority child rights interventions in South Sudan to ensure survival, development, protection and participation of all children in the Country.

The action plan further provides a holistic and comprehensive coordinated approach to addressing the diverse needs of children.

The development of the national plan of action commenced in 2016 and launched today after a series of consultations and reviews by several stakeholders.

It was later extended to the national Council of Ministers where it was endorsed to become a working document.