JAMAICA is doing everything to protect and preserve the rights of its children, according to Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture, Dr Donald Rhodd.

Speaking at the recent United Nations (UN) Decade for Peace Candle Lighting Ceremony at Emancipation Park in Kingston, he highlighted a number of programmes geared at protecting these rights.

“There are also programmes which emanate from the ministries of health and national security which speak directly to the repercussions of violence on children and some procedures which are being used in rehabilitation of these children,” Rhodd said.

He added that the Jamaican government, through the education ministry, had put together a 17-agency task force with responsibility for:

* The formation of the local organisation of the Draw Me Peace competition sponsored by UNESCO,

* Obtaining funds to conduct four parenting workshops in three communities for the family court,

* Establishing links with the Peace Management Initiative, and

* Organising a local church service to mark International Peace and Global Cease-Fire Day.

One of the programmes, a parenting workshop held last Friday for the Kingston and St Andrew Family Court, in central Kingston, looked at factors that contribute to poor parenting skills. The seminar, which was held under the theme, “Better Parents, Better Nation,” was officiated by Judge Rosemarie Neale-Irving and highlighted a special segment that dealt with nutrition.

The task force was also responsible for the recent candle lighting ceremony, a commemoration of the UN Decade of Peace. It was a fun fest of interactive entertainment and thought-provoking speeches. The Jamaica Regiment Band, directed by Warrant Officer 1, James Norman, played traditional Jamaican songs along with the Mass Choir, a contingent of various high school students.

The UN Decade of Peace’s objectives are aimed at calling attention to the disorientation, trauma and distress faced by children who suffer the loss of loved ones, as a result of violence. Also, it provides opportunities for private and public reflection on the negative effects as well as a commitment to peace building.

During the ceremony, numerous blackboards draped with quilts made by students who have suffered the loss of loved ones by violent means, lined one section of the park.

Rhodd said there was still much to be done, if those concerned are going to effectively deal with the present challenges.

“Our actions must be focused, united and comprehensive,” he said.

Social Conflict and Legal Project (SCLP) manager, Loretta Reid Pitt, paid tribute to the cause and said in her address that her organisation is committed to working with the education ministry, other partners and stakeholders to foster a culture of peace for the nation’s children.

“As we work together to make the justice system more accessible through alternative dispute mechanisms such as court-connected mediation,” she said, “and as community residents in our pilot project learn to actively listen to one another and work out their disputes without resorting to violence or even the courthouse, our children will experience the positive effects.”