A follow-up visit by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC84) has led to the convening of a conference at the Taumeasina Island Resort which will run for three days.

Coming three years after the CRC84 was held in Samoa for the first time outside of Geneva and New York in 2020, the Committee acknowledged the need for effective implementation of its recommendations to address challenges in light of emphasising the ongoing importance of promoting children's rights globally.

The Minister of Women, Community and Social Development, Mulipola Anarosa Molioo in her opening remarks on Monday highlighted the importance of children in the Samoan communities and the role of culture in their safety.

"In our culture, children are widely cherished and treasured, and celebrated on occasions such as White Sunday," she said. "But despite our celebrations dedicated to children, they are still considered as subservient to adults and there is a prevailing attitude in our society that children should be seen and not heard and frowned upon if they challenge what adults say or think.

"It requires a fundamental change in attitude and mindset to consider children as having their own rights and that their views and opinions are just as important as adults, partly because we as adults were not treated like that, and were not taught this way when we were growing up.

"But we have learned that for children to grow into healthy adults, and for us to make better decisions, listening to children is extremely important so I hope that the children who are present today will be able to express their views freely and make their voices heard – not just today, but every day."

According to Minister Mulipola, the country committed itself to "promoting and protecting the rights of every child" after it ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1994. 

"Since then, we have taken measures to ensure that children – who constitute 40 per cent of our population – can live healthy and happy lives without fear of violence or hunger, guided by our National Care and Protection Policy.

"Adults from 12 Pacific Island Countries have gathered here in Samoa to discuss ways in which your rights can be better protected. I hope that we all will be able to live up to your expectations."

In light of the World Children’s Day, a significant timeline to promote awareness about children’s rights and amplify their voices, Mulipola called upon the gathering for a minute of silence to also remember the innoent lives of children lost in wars.

"As we commemorate this special occasion, I call upon all of us to observe a minute of silence, in remembrance and of the lives of innocent children lost in conflicts, such as the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict as well as children who face any form of abuse or violence," she said.

"It is in this moment of reflection that we reaffirm our commitment to creating a world where every child can grow up in safety and with dignity."

The Committee planned this follow-up visit to the Pacific to assess progress, encourage implementation, and engage with stakeholders, including children, aiming to empower them in realizing their rights.

 The visit is seen as an opportunity to test various engagement modalities and discuss the operationalization of a predictable review cycle, considering the resource constraints of small states.

In March 2020, the 84th Extraordinary Outreach Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC84) convened in Samoa, marking the first time a United Nations human rights treaty body convened outside Geneva or New York. 

The Committee engaged in dialogues with state delegations from Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Tuvalu, adopting concluding observations on their periodic reports. 

CRC84 was praised for fostering public interest in children's rights issues in the Pacific, raising awareness among stakeholders, and strengthening partnerships for human rights implementation. 

Meanwhile, Minister Mulipola also stressed that Samoa has made progress in education, which is compulsory and free of charge in public schools, with universal access to primary education and the number of children with disabilities who are enrolled in schools increasing. 

She added that villages on the other hand are also reinforcing by-laws to punish perpetrators of violence.

"But I acknowledge that we must do more to protect children from harm and to ensure that they can live their lives to the fullest through a whole-of-government approach, together with parents, village leaders, churches, and teachers," said Minister Mulipola.

"We also need to include children themselves to jointly find solutions to the challenges that they face, as well as the challenges that we face as nations, such as the climate crisis.

"And as they say in Samoa ‘galue faamatuau’u e pei ole upu ile au se’epapa ‘ adults have a lot to do in shaping and crafting the characters of our children and their perceptions of life. Let us all teach them well."

The  talanoa dialogue to exchange expriences, insights and wisdom is to ensure that the Pacific is a region where children can thrive and reach their fullest potential. It was organised and facilitated by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights as well as UNICEF and SPC.

Children from various grades representing several schools were also invited, to participate and listen in on the event where their importance was the subject of discussions, especially their rights in their families and communities.