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{
    "id": 490951,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/490951/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 75,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wako",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 366,
        "legal_name": "Amos Sitswila Wako",
        "slug": "amos-wako"
    },
    "content": "I hope that the two or three minutes that Senator number one has taken will not be counted against me. I want to take this opportunity to add a welcome to the students from the three high schools who are here today. I want to inform them that they have come at the right time when we are discussing a very important Motion relating to the rights of children. Children are defined as those who are under the age of 19 years. I want to believe that anybody in high school today is under 19 years old and therefore he or she is a child. Therefore, what we are discussing now is relevant to them. I hope that in their own debates, they will continue with the discussions on how the rights of children can best be protected in this country. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I was saying that I was involved in the drafting of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights. I remember drafting sections in that Charter which relate to the rights of children. Due to that, I was also asked to draft the African Charter on the welfare and protection of children which again is now in force. When I became the Attorney-General, my first duty was to set up a task force on the rights of children which resulted in the Children Act. What we are discussing today is very important because under our Constitution, under the United Nations Charter for the rights of children, under the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, under the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of Children, one fundamental issue is recognized; that the family is the fundamental unit of any society. As has been said, it is also recognized under Article 45 of our constitution that the family is the natural and fundamental unit of society and the necessary basis of social order. What that means is that if there is an attack on the family, then it will ultimately affect the social order in any society. That will ultimately lead to the downfall of that society. That is why under our Constitution, it is provided that the family as a unit must be protected by the state. I am emphasizing this because the right to “found” a family is a right under our Constitution which is confined to an adult. An adult is one who is above 18 years of age. What I am trying to say is that a person who becomes a parent when under the age of 18 years remains a child under our laws. Therefore, that person remains under the protection of the state. The laws which relate to that protection must be implemented so long as somebody is under the age of 18 years. Some of these rights are elaborated in the Children Act. I can also pick two articles from our constitution: Article 53 provides for the right to free and compulsory basic education. Therefore, if somebody becomes a parent under the age of 18 years, that person must continue to have the basic education which will be useful to that person, to enable her play a useful role in the society. In that regard therefore, a person who becomes pregnant under the age of 18 years should not be The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}