- training of municipal councillors on planning and budgeting focused on the rights of
the child;
- dissemination of the ACRWC in a simplified version for children to read in
communities;
- training, in April 2012, of journalists from the national and international press on the
rights of the child, focusing on the CRC, in view of disseminatingf awareness-raising
messages on this legal instrument, crowned with the establishment of a “Réseau des
Journalistes Amis des Enfants, REJAE,” (Network of Journalists Friends of Children),
which has 150 members representing 50 media organs.
In addition, in continuation of the implementation of the national education programme on
Human Rights introduced in Cameroon since 2008, elements on the rights of the child
have been included in the training modules and learners’ manuals for primary and
secondary education.
The main difficulty is the lack of technical and financial resources to popularizethe
ACRWC, particularly, its translation into the main local languages of Cameroon.
In prospect, for better popularization, the raising of funds is envisaged for the translation of
the ACRWC into local languages.
III. DEFINITION OF A CHILD (Art. 2)
Following the recommendation made on Article 2 on the definition of the Child, the drafts
Child Protection Code and Code of Persons and the Family, both merged into a draft Civil
Code, harmonized the legal age for marriage, according to the ACRWC requirements, to
be18 years for both sexes.
While pending the adoption of the prepared drafts, awareness-raising and advocacy
actions have been intensified in families and communities, in order to rekindle a more
effective awareness on the need to protect the child against harmful socio-cultural
practices, such as early and/or forced marriages, female genital mutilation, etc.
IV. GENERAL PRINCIPLES (Art. 3, 4, 5 and 26)
The general principles entail three areas:
- non-discrimination;
- the best interest of the child;
- survival and development.
a) Non-discrimination (Art. 3 and 26)
Pursuant to the recommendations of Article 3, the following actions were undertaken by
the Government and its partners:
-
the introduction of free treatment of simple malaria and severe malaria for children of
0-5 years;
information and education of men and women on the inheritance rights of girls and
women;
strengthening support and extension of the Associations of Mothers of Students (AME)
for the promotion of access to and retention of girls in school, especially in the Priority
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