The North-West University’s (NWU’s) Faculty of Law will host several events throughout 2019 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Bill of Rights and the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
The first of these exciting events is an awareness march on 26 February followed by a public lecture by Ms Karabo Ozah, director of the Centre for Child Law at the University of Pretoria. She has been part of various research projects for the national Department of Social Development, Save the Children and the United Nations Populations Fund.
This event will take place in the Sanlam Auditorium on the NWU’s campus in Potchefstroom. It is a cross-campus initiative and students from the NWU’s campuses in Vanderbijlpark and Mahikeng will also attend.
Adv René Koraan, director for professional development and community engagement at the Faculty of Law, says the purpose of the march is to create awareness of children’s rights, as well as human rights in general. The march will start at 11:00 at the faculty and continue down Wasgoedpennetjielaan and Lovers’ Lane to the street front of building F1. It will conclude at the Sanlam Auditorium.
Adv Koraan says both the Bill of Rights and Convention on CRC impact on legal development in South Africa. “This is why it is so important to celebrate them both appropriately.
“The importance of the CRC lies in the fact that it is steadfast in imbuing respect for the dignity and worth of and respect for the person of the child while also promoting social, political and economic rights for children in a free society.”
She says the CRC is not only the most ratified treaty of all human rights treaties but ratification has also taken place in a remarkably brief period of time. Its true importance lies in its impact on state behaviour towards the rights of children.
For more information about the march, public lecture and planned events for 2019, phone Adv René Koraan at 018 299 4287 or visit http://www.nwu.ac.za/celebrating-30-years-convention-rights-child.
