BY LORRAINE MUROMO
THE Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (Zela) has urged government to adopt the United Nations Protocol on the Rights of Children to promote their wellbeing and to protect them from environmental issues that may arise due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement recently, Zela said children had a right to enjoy a healthy environment, especially those that live in extractive communities where mining is taking place, as well as the COVID-19 environment where people have to dispose of masks and other personal protective equipment which can endanger children.
Zela said children that live in disaster-prone areas such as those affected by Cyclone Idai should also be protected from environmental ravages that might affect them.
This comes at a time the world has put to the fore discussions on environmental damage that might be caused by the COVID-19 pandemic where millions of children are at home, and many of them have missed school due to the environmental damage caused by natural disasters like Cyclone Idai in their communities.
“We call upon the Zimbabwe government to support the UN resolution on the human right to a healthy environment and the optional protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,” Zela said.
“Children’s rights are envisioned in section 73 of the Constitution which stipulates their environmental protection in the extractives, waste management and climate change being the main thematic areas,” they said.
Zela said government while working on its COVID-19 recovery plans had an opportunity to put children at the centre of building a more sustainable future.
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