By Htet Htet Oo
Every year, 20th November, marks the day when the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, was adopted. In Myanmar, this year, children and adolescents took centre stage making it a day ‘for children, by children’. From the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, to Mandalay Region and Rakhine State, children and adolescents urged adults to recognise their rights and to hear their concerns and aspirations. Here are some of the voices of children and adolescents that UNICEF and the Department of Social Welfare helped to elevate throughout the country.
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| U-Reporters at the Union Parliament singing 'We Are the World' in Burmese ©UNICEF Myanmar/2018/Nyan Zay Htet |
What children and adolescents were able to do in Nay Pyi Taw, was the first of its kind in Myanmar. Representing more than 20,000 U-Reporters from across the country, 100 children and young people took over the Union Parliament to raise their concerns with more than 300 Parliamentarians. In the presence of the Speaker of the Union Parliament and the Minister for Social Welfare Relief and Resettlement, they presented the most pressing issues for children and adolescents, based on the results of U-Report polls undertaken in 2018.
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| U-Reporters sharing their concerns with Members of the Union Parliament in a panel discussion. ©UNICEF Myanmar/2018/Nyan Zay Htet |
One of the highlights was the testimony of 21-year-old Ma Roi Seng, who lives in camp for internally displaced people (IDP) in Kachin State. She moved many to tears, when she spoke of her struggle to complete her education whilst living in the IDP camp, and her continued challenges struggle to find some form of livelihood.
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| “I just want to go back to my village. I don’t want to live in the camps anymore,” Ma Roi Seng from Kachin State tells Parliamentarians present at the World Children’s Day celebration. ©UNICEF Myanmar/2018/Nyan Zay Htet |
UNICEF Myanmar field offices also took part in celebrating the day by participating in various activities to promote child rights.
Kayin State
In Hpa-An, children performed a drama portraying the four guiding principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: non-discrimination, best interests of the child, survival and development and participation.
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| Children rehearsing their performance before they present to the audience ©UNICEF Myanmar/2018/Phoo Mon Thwe |
Rakhine State
In Sittwe, at U Ottama Hall, around 300 children took part in an event that promoted the overall importance of the protection of childrens rights through a music concert and other awareness raising tournaments while development and humanitarian organisations displayed a photo exhibition to showcase their support to children in Rakhine State.
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| Children performing in Rakhine traditional costumes ©UNICEF Myanmar/2018/Ruslana Sirman |
Mandalay Region
In Mandalay, children released blue helium balloons that represent a better future for children in Myanmar at the Manawyaman playground.
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| Children dressed in the uniform of the profession they want to become when they grow up as they realse their blue balloons at the Manawyaman playground. ©UNICEF Myanmar/2018/Khaing Khaing Shwe |
Mon State
In Mawlamyine, more than 500 people attended the World Children’s Day celebration where children and adolescents emphasized the need to protect all children’s rights and to enable them to fulfill their potential, while Government and UN and NGO representative attentively listened.
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| Children performing at the World Children’s Day celebration in Mawlamyine ©UNICEF Myanmar/2018/ May Zan Kyaw |
Through the issues that children chose to highlight, it was clear that children have a distinct voice - children want adults to recognise and respect their rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Back in Nay Pyi Taw, UNICEF Representative to Myanmar made a call to everyone; “Let us commit ourselves to ensure we hear children in our families and communities every day of the year, and as we do so, let us consider the most disadvantaged and vulnerable children.”
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| Members of the Parliament hanging their pledges to children across Myanmar, to build a Myanmar for children with children. ©UNICEF Myanmar/2018/Nyan Zay Htet |
UNICEF will continue to engage with children and adolescents and provide opportunities, including the U-Report platform, to ensure their voices are heard and their concerns are addressed by duty bearers. What is your pledge for children in Myanmar today?
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