3.2. Opening speech by the Minister of Gender Equality, Child Development, and Family Welfare The speech of the Minister was delivered by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs J. Jaunbocus. She thanked the ACERWC for organizing the Forum in Mauritius. It was highlighted that the African Children’s Charter and the ACERWC are significant to address the disadvantaged situation of children of Africa. In her Speech, Mrs J. Jaunbocus highlighted some of the achievements of the Government of Mauritius such as the provision of universal basic services, allocation of budget to execute child related programs, establishment of legal frameworks for the participation of the private sector in national efforts to protect children’s rights, establishment of back to home and foster care programs to deinstitutionalize children, development of Child Protection Regulations as well as Child Mentoring Program. It was also indicated that the Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development, and Family Welfare has established a fast-track system for birth registration, a system to monitor Child Day Care Centers, and facilitates the commemoration of the Day of the African Child. Moreover, it was highlighted that the Ministry is developing a children’s bill. The speech highlighted that the ratification of the Charter illustrates the commitment of the ratifying State to improve the situation of children and that reporting is imperative to monitor the implementation of the Charter and create dialogue about child rights. It was stressed that States should ratify, report on but also domesticate the Charter as well as other relevant treaties to promote children’s rights. The speech was concluded by calling up on participants to become ambassadors of child rights in their respective countries. 4. Expectation sharing session Participants were taken through a round of introductions during which they also shared their expectations of the Forum. The main expectations raised include: to get firm commitments from countries on ratification, reporting, and implementation of the Charter; to acquire knowledge about the charter and its implementation; to share experience on the implementation of the Charter and learn from others on how they are addressing challenges; to learn how supporting institutions (human rights institutions, civil society and international agencies) can engage states in the ratification and reporting; to learn from countries that have reported on how to submit a report including how resource are mobilized and how data is collected; to identify the reasons for the low ratification of and reporting on the Charter and identify measures to be taken to address this problem. 4|Page