Please find below the resolutions of the Alliance for Children’s Entitlement to Social Security (ACESS) Young Child Conference, which took place on 23 and 24 July 2008, for your information. This is a landmark document in terms of establishing a framework to judge the success of any programmes relating to the rights of young children in South Africa .

Delegates attending the conference have adopted the following resolutions relating the the rights of young children to Social Security; identity; education, learning and development; health care and services; basic services (including water, sanitation, and electricity); food and nutrition; transport; safety and security. The full resolutions can be found below.

In the event that you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us:
The Team at ACESS
Tel: 021 761 0117
Fax: 021 761 4938
www.acess.org.za

STATEMENT Of the Alliance for Children’s Entitlement to Social Security Conference on Building Consensus in meeting the Comprehensive Social Security needs of Young Children (0-9) in South Africa - 24 July 2008

 YCC Resolutions 24 July 2008 107.24 Kb

The Alliance for Children’s Entitlement to Social Security (ACESS) and delegates attending the conference:

• Recognise that the Alliance for Children’s Entitlement to Social Security (ACESS) is an alliance of over 1,300 children’s sector organisations in South Africa,
• Recalling our commitment to the rights of all children to survival, development, protection and participation as specified in the Convention of the Rights of the Child, and in the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child,
• Recalling the South African Constitution, 1996, as a guide and support to the survival, protection, development and participation rights of young children,
• Recognizing the critical role of investing in young children in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of poverty reduction, universal school enrollment, reducing child mortality and maternal mortality and creating gender equality,
• Recalling national and provincial policies, legislation, norms and standards, and guidelines focusing on the rights, well-being, survival, protection and development of young children and their families,
• Strongly acknowledging that investments in the holistic development of young children have been shown to have the greatest returns on human development, economic growth, and sustainable poverty reduction,

Adopt the following resolutions:

1. The right of all young children (0-9) in South Africa to Social Security will be met when:-
   i) Every young child living in poverty, and the families with whom they live, are guaranteed access to a range of social security benefits, including cash grants to meet their basic needs and needs specific to their circumstances.
2. The right of all young children (0-9) in South Africa to an identity will be met when:-
   i) The birth of every child, irrespective of the nationality of the parents (paying particular attention to those living in poverty, in remote and/or rural and periurban areas) is registered at the time of the birth, or within one month of the child’s date of birth; and
   ii) Every child receives an unabridged birth certificate within one month of registration of the birth, free of charge; and
   iii) Every caregiver is in possession of a bar coded identity document; and
   iv) A national protocol is developed and properly implemented for the late registration of births.
3. The right of all young children (0-9) in South Africa to education, learning and development will be met when:-
   i) All children 6-9 have access to free quality schooling (grades 1, 2 and 3); and
   ii) All children in the 5 year age group have access to free quality grade R schooling; and
   iii) All children 0-4 have access to affordable (including free if the caregiver cannot afford it) quality ECD services and programmes, including family and centre based programmes and services.
4. The right of all young children (0-9) in South Africa to health care and services will be met when:-
   i) They are all guaranteed access to free, accessible, quality and adequate basic health care and specialized services for children with special needs, including
   (a) Pre-natal and post-natal care including support for breastfeeding; and
   (b) Preventative health interventions (vaccinations, growth monitoring); and
   (c) Curative interventions for common health conditions such as diarrhea, asthma and antiretroviral treatment for children living with HIV/AIDS; and
   (d) Strengthened services for children with special needs through remedial services & therapeutic services.
5. The right of all young children (0-9) in South Africa to basic services (including water, sanitation, and electricity) will be met when:-
   i) They are guaranteed access to sufficient clean water in their households equivalent to the monthly minimum amount recommended by the World Health Organization; and
   ii) They are guaranteed access to sanitation facilities that are safe, clean and reduce odours and are within or near a house; and
   iii) All schools, ECD centres, public facilities and clinics have adequate water and sanitation facilities; and
   iv) All households have access to a safe and affordable energy source.
6. The right of all young children (-0-9) in South Africa to food and nutrition will be met when:-
   i) All young children are guaranteed access to sufficient, accessible, available and sustainable food and nutrition daily that is age and needs appropriate.
7. The right of all young children (0-9) in South Africa to transport will be met when:-
   i) All young children and their caregivers are guaranteed access to safe, affordable public transport so that children and their care givers can access schools and other service points.
8. The right of all young children (0-9) in South Africa to safety and security is recognized as a fundamental right and will be met to a greater degree if:-
   i) Government and all civil society organisations strengthen and coordinate all activities that function to protect children from abuse, exploitation and degradation.
9. All young children (0-9) in South Africa have a right to the full package of rights recognized in this memorandum. Access to this complimentary and comprehensive package of rights depends on:-
   i) Government working cooperatively to deliver intra and inter-sectoral services to young children and their families, that give effect to the comprehensive social security (and other relevant) rights of children; and
   ii) Effective oversight of delivery of the relevant inter and inter-sectoral services by Parliament and the Office on the Rights of the Child, at a national, provincial and local level; and
   iii) Access to speedy and effective dispute resolution forums and mechanisms for addressing violations of children’s rights.
10. The realisation of all of the rights recognised in this memorandum depends on the South African government fulfilling a number of minimum obligations to young children and their families and caregivers.

Some of these obligations have been met through steps that have been taken to date. However, there is still work to be done and additional steps have to be taken by government in order for it to meet its minimum obligations to young children.
The way forward in this regard must be guided by the list of minimum obligations developed in consultation at the ACESS national young child conference held at the River Club, Cape Town, South Africa on 23 and 24 July 2008.

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