Delegates at the just-concluded Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting have committed themselves to expanding social protection coverage to reduce poverty and promote human capital for all children and young people, and strengthen social protection systems to better respond to future shocks. This is one of the resolutions adopted under the Kigali Declaration on Child Care and Protection Reform adopted on June 25, at the closure of the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. They noted that, as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, an estimated 100 million more children had fallen into multidimensional poverty at the end of 2021, compared to 2019, because of loss of education and health services, citing data from Save the Children/ UNICEF’s “2021 Impact of Covid-19 on children living in poverty: A Technical note.” Citing data from the 2021 estimates from the United Nations, they reiterated that rising malnutrition is expected as more than 150 million children globally, including those who normally rely on school meals, lack essential health and nutrition services. The leaders vowed measures that encourage development agencies by 2025 to, among other things, support staff, as well as applicants and recipients of aid, development assistance and investment, to prioritise quality care arrangements at the community level over institutionalisation, including for children with disabilities; and support projects which take a holistic and inclusive approach to child protection systems development and family strengthening. Zero tolerance to violence against children Other actions include implementing a policy of zero tolerance for violence, harassment, abuse (online and offline), stigma, or discrimination [against children], paying particular attention to the most marginalised and excluded children and those in a situation of vulnerability. Here, the leaders stressed that the Covid-19 lockdown measures have put children at an increased risk of being witnesses and victims of abuse, domestic violence and abuse online, particularly girls with disabilities who already face a higher risk of gender-based violence. They also noted that each year, 1 billion children are estimated to have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence and/or neglect, as indicated by the 2020 data from the World Health Oganization (WHO). Also, they recognised that 120 million girls were estimated to have suffered some form of forced sexual contact before the age of 20, over 200 million girls and women having undergone female genital mutilation, and more than 650 million women were married before the age of 18, of whom 250 million are under the age of 15, according to the 2014 UNICEF statistics. Addressing online sexual exploitation of children, child labour Online sexual exploitation of children is a serious global child protection issue, and that Covid-19 has led to some of the greatest risks for child protection, including child trafficking for forced labour and online sexual exploitation of children, the leaders warned. Almost one in 10 children, including migrant and refugee children, are subject to child labour, forced labour, trafficking and sexual exploitation, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNICEF’s “2021 Child Labour: Global Estimates 2020, trends and road forward”, they noted. The leaders resolved to put in place the necessary frameworks and resources to ensure sustainable and effective child protection and safeguarding systems of all children, including the elimination of child labour in all its forms, forced labour, trafficking and sexual exploitation.
