Changemakers meets the President of the Senate to plead for the installation of a Children's Parliament in the DRC

Par Farida Eliaka, Advocacy, EE & Communications Director

On the 2nd of June 2023, a group of eighteen children from Kinshasa, Kwango, Kongo Central AND North-Kivu Provinces met with Modeste Bahati Lukwebo, the President of the DRC senate, for the establishment of a Children’s Parliament in DRC. The children, 7 girls and 9 boys aged 11 to 18 years, also shared with the President a series of recommendations on the measures that could be taken to strengthen child protection for the most vulnerable Congolese children. 

They raised the fact that every year Congolese children experience violence. It happens in every province, city and community. They believe it is a violation of the life God desires for every child. But it doesn’t need to be this way. There are proven solutions. 

Violence against children is at epidemic proportions and failure to prevent it, is akin to condoning it. Government action, which the Senate has the power to monitor, is essential. It is not enough to pass laws banning child marriage, genital mutilation or beatings. Governments should measure their success by the number of convictions, not the number of laws.

The children developed the recommendations based on the findings of the first Children’s Forum World Vision helped them to organize last year in partnership with UNICEF, Save the Children, SOS Children’s Villages and the Ministries in charge of child protection (Ministry of Gender, Family and Children; Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of the Budget and Ministry of Human Rights). The Forum brought together children from 12 of the DRC's 26 provinces.

Among these recommendations, the children insisted on the need to invest in raising awareness among children and youth on the dangers of internet and the existing reporting mechanisms they could use if they face child protection issues online. The recommendations also mention the need to raise awareness among parents and caregivers on the dangers that children face online and on the critical role that they can play toward their protection.

Prohibit violence against children in all settings

As the Government of the Republic of DRC is also one of the pathfinding countries to end violence against children, it should ban all forms of violence against children in homes, schools, communities, and all public spaces; ensure that the national legislation is aligned with the relevant international human rights standards; harmonize statutory and customary marriage age limits through statutory instruments; create social and economic support mechanisms for children withdrawn from marriage at the local, provincial and national levels.

They also listed a series of technical measures they recommend the President of the Senate to discuss with parliamentarians on how to equip and empower children and youth with life skills, resilience, and capacity to protect themselves and participate in decision making; improve governance and accountability mechanisms as the result of child protection policy implementation to protect girls and boys.

Other recommendations include the blockage of harmful applications, free filtering services, restriction of the functionalities of some applications, and harmonization and amendment of internet policies. Overall, the children stressed the need for the implementation of a comprehensive approach starting with the adoption of a national policy focusing on the protection of children. 

Children pleaded for the establishment and operation of the Children's Parliament in the DRC; the revision of Law No 09/001 of 10 January 2009 on child protection in order to adapt it to the current realities of child protection in the DRC; the need to increase the budget allocated to the child protection sectors and preventing violations of children's rights during the electoral process by formally prohibiting the exploitation and use of children and young people in electoral activities at all levels, and punishing the perpetrators of these violations. 

Responding to the concerns raised by the children, the Speaker of the Senate appreciated the relevance of the issues raised and promised to share the memo with all senators; to invite children to plenary discussions in the near future for their contribution to the revision of the Protection Act so that nothing is forgotten; and invited child parliamentarians to take action to raise awareness among young people of the dangers of abusing harmful content on social networks.

Changemakers obtained his support and commitment as an agent of change in favor of child protection in the DRC.