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Johannesburg, August (GYRP) – Amid the complex political negotiations at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, children had a chance to treat delegates to some straight talking.
The only official side-event for children featured personal stories and local solutions from youngsters involved firsthand in some of the issues being discussed by their adult counterparts. It was a refreshingly honest presentation as only the young can manage.
At the event organised by Peaceways, children presented a statement of youth priorities which identified issues including clean drinking water, HIV/AIDS, human rights, abuse and poverty eradication.
Illustrating the extent of the problem, a number of presenters, who had grown up homeless in Diepsloot near Johannesburg, recounted their personal experiences on the streets.
One young girl recalled: “I was raped when I was 14 years old. The police later lost all the papers of the case. The man who did it was threatening me and is still out there. In my community lots of case documents with the police go missing. The police sell the cases to the criminals.”
Another recounted: “I was gang raped. I told the police but they did nothing.”
Sipho Mathebula from the South African Alliance for Street Children called for greater understanding of the plight of street children, who have been displaced through no fault of their own. He believes they are often keen to contribute to society. “We are willing to make a difference in the world. We need to be given a chance.”
Dressed in vibrant rainbow tie-died t-shirts, the children then unfurled a long paper streamer cut-out of people, animals and trees in an illustration of the elements of sustainable development.
Another group presented the Ark of Hope, a large decorated box that included 6,000 letters and pictures produced by children around the world, expressing their hopes for a better world.
The children received cheers and standing ovations from the crowd, composed mostly of non-government, adult delegates.
John Hilary from the Save the Children Foundation in the United Kingdom complained of the reluctance of governments to support the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in the Summit outcome documents.
Hilary also accused multi-national corporations of irresponsibility and warned against the dangers of unregulated privatisation of public utilities, including health, education, and water.
“The rights of European water companies should not be placed above the rights of the children in the poorest families in the world,” he declared, to much applause. “We need a binding framework for corporate accountability.”
© GLOBAL YOUTH REPORTERS PROGRAMME
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