NCC to improve capacity building for future intervention on the African continent |14 October 2017

Two representatives from the National Council for Children (NCC) were in Rwanda recently where they had the privilege to brush shoulders with police and military personnel from over 20 African countries.

Gerard Lim Sam and Fatma Bibi were in the Central African country as part of a five-day training to enhance the capacity of peace support groups in the region in the prevention and response to violence against children.

“In the local context, the techniques learnt at the Rwanda Peace Academy will be useful when dealing with traumatised children following disasters or accidents,” says Mr Lim Sam, who is also the head of the psychology section of NCC.

The training was co-hosted by ‘Save our Children’, an organisation working with children in 120 countries and the East African Standby Force (ESF), a regional organisation mandated to enhance peace and security in the Eastern African region.

The ESF was established following the Summit of the African Union in 2004, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Seychelles is among 10 member states of East Africa that have pledged to provide civilian, police and military support as part of the standby force.

“There are a few Seychellois who have received the training, but we need to expand that so that we are better prepared to assist or intervene on the African continent whenever required,” says Mrs Bibi, who holds the post of training coordinator at NCC.

Marked by years of ethnic fighting, Rwanda was the perfect setting for the training as it provided an insight to the participants of a country in post-healing and rehabilitation process.

An advocate of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the two representatives of NCC also say more awareness is needed on the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) which has the same implications, if not more, for Seychelles in the African arena.

Seychelles signed and ratified the African Union’s Charter in 1992.