A Right Move

The importance of the urgent need to protect the children of Anguilla cannot be over emphasised.

For this reason, the workshop held this week and sponsored by the Anguilla Government in collaboration with the Child Protection Programme of the National Children’s Home in the UK, the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, was an important undertaking. The workshop facilitator, Ena Trotman-Stobey, who has been raising the concern for a child protection plan in Anguilla for a long time during her frequent visits, is to be commended for her dedication and guidance not just for the workshop but for actually getting the Government to work on an Action Plan.

The Action Plan may be the safeguard and protection of the island’s young people, a number of whom are being exploited and otherwise abused. It is not only the economic face of the island that is changing. The whole society is being changed and the downward trend is leaving many persons fearful of what the future of the island will be for the young people if something is not done quickly to remedy the situation.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was extended to Anguilla and the other Overseas Territories by the United Kingdom more than a decade ago.

The Convention commits those territories and other countries to establishing children’s rights as enduring principles and international standards of behaviour towards children. The Minister of Social Development has made the point that Anguilla has a legal obligation to promote and protect the rights of children and is obligated to submit reports on its implementation process. These reports include national achievements, challenges of implementation and the Government’s initiatives on national development planning and the impact on children.

Anguilla is part of a world going mad and we cannot afford to have the lives and future of our children marred or impaired in any form or fashion through negligence exploitation or abuse. There are some very serious problems occurring in Anguilla in terms of sexual abuse and the Courts have taken note of this by imposing stiff jail sentences on offenders in an effort to deter the abusers and protect the young victims. If this assault continues then it may be necessary to give more teeth to the law to deal with the situation.

It is hoped that the Multi-sectoral Child Protection Committee, established by the Ministry of Social Development, will soon swing into action to deal with the task before it of developing a National Plan of Action for the improved care and protection of children particularly those suffering from abuse. Ths is a right move.