MTVM: Ms. Hortense NNAME, could you introduce us to REDEAC?

Hortense NNAME: REDEAC is a network of national coalitions for the protection of children's rights in Central Africa. The member coalitions come from Gabon, Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, DRC, Congo and Burundi. Currently missing are Equatorial Guinea and Sao Tome & Principe. We support member coalitions in their missions to promote and protect children in the sub-region, particularly by strengthening their capacities.

Our trainings are aimed at the leaders of the coalitions, their member associations and children. We encourage the expression of children, as soon as they can speak, so that they themselves express their concerns and expectations. Even if they do not know why they are victims of injustice, unequal treatment, endangerment or violence, usually by adults, they feel all these abuses and are able to express them and it is important to listen to them.

We represent Central Africa on the Committee of Experts on the Rights of the Child at the African Union; we are members, along with coalitions from other sub-regions, of CSO FORUM, the forum of associations for the protection of children's rights in Africa. We take part in the work of the Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights in Banjul, and every five years we present alternative reports on the rights of the child in each country to the UN headquarters in Geneva. These reports confirm or contradict those presented by States Parties that have ratified international instruments such as the Conventions or Charters on the rights of the child. In Gabon, for example, there are reports of ritual crimes, child abductions, and sexual violence and abuse. We also have a sentinel role, to call on governments and remind them of the need to respect their commitments to protect children's rights.