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Two Caux Lectures
01 October 2005
In spite of the fact that the UN Charter on the Rights of the Child is the most widely ratified law in the world, violence against children continues.
Listen to the children
It’s not just families that need to listen to children: the world must too, according to the Caux Lecture of Carol Bellamy, a former Director of the United Nations’ Childrens’ Fund (UNICEF) and now President of World Learning. In spite of the fact that the UN Charter on the Rights of the Child is the most widely ratified law in the world, violence against children continues. She cited trafficking of children to work on plantations in West Africa, child soldiers, Chinese girls sold off as young brides, and children abused by family members. She gave examples from around the world of children speaking out, and told the participants in the intergenerational conference that they had a voice—and a duty to use it. ‘Our chances for a better future depend on your speaking out about your experiences and your engaging with the world around you.’
Africa needs its women
The Caux Lecture of Bineta Diop, the founder and Executive Director of Femmes
Africa Solidarité (FAS), was a call for women to play a greater part in Africa’s affairs, and in peace-making in particular. ‘Women are the first victims of violence, and they are the first to rebuild and to work for reconciliation,’ she said. ‘That is why their voice needs to be heard in negotiations.’ Senegalese-born Diop, who now has Swiss nationality, noted that the continent has no women heads of state, and only two women foreign ministers.
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