The 25th anniversary of the UN convention on the Rights of the Child was commemorated yesterday, November 20, 2014 worldwide.

Cameroon joined the international community yesterday, November, 20, 2014 to commemorate the 25th anniversary on the convention on the Rights of the Child with focus on innovative solutions which will promote and respect the rights of every child anywhere in the world.

Events in Cameroon, which were organised by the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and the Family and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), combined with the second edition of the International Day on the Rights of Children.

While presiding at events in Yaounde, the Minister of Women’s Empowerment and the Family, Marie Therese Abena Ondoa nee Obama said the day stressed on the general public to know that children have rights which must be promoted and protected because there is a UN convention on the protection of the rights of children especially as children are victims of all types of abuses.

According to Minister Marie Therese Abena, when a child is born, he/she has the right to existence. But in the country, there are still some children without a birth certificate. “This means that they do not have a legal existence,” the Minister lamented.

She urged parents to see the need to feed their children, educate them and create an enabling environment which is void of violence which is not only physical but sexual, psychological as well as giving them work which is not appropriate for their ages.

The Country Representative of UNICEF, Dr Félicité Tchibindat said the vision of the UN convention on the rights of a child is not yet a reality for every child.

According to her there is need for innovative solutions such as a major increase in resources, and political will to invest in children and put their wellbeing at the centre of the political, economic and social agendas.