SPC prizes recognise Human Rights advocates in Tonga [1]
Friday, December 12, 2014 - 14:39. Updated on Friday, December 12, 2014 - 16:27.
Three Tongans received cash prizes for their short stories on ‘Human Rights in Everyday Life’ marking the International Human Rights Day on Wednesday, 10 December in Nuku'alofa.
The awards initiative by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) is for six Pacific Islands including Tonga to celebrate outstanding work to advance human rights in the Pacific, said the Deputy Director of SPC's Regional Rights Resource Team (RRRT) Mark Atterton.
The winner ‘Ofa Guttenbeil-Likiliki the Director of the Tonga Women and Children's Crisis Centre received a cash prize of $500, presented by Lord Vaea. the Minister for Internal Affairs, who recognised their work to advance the rights of girls in Tonga to be free from domestic violence and sexual abuse.
Vanessa Heleta of the Talitha Girls Project won $300 in second place, in recognition for advancing the rights of single mothers to education and to be respected with equal opportunity.
Elenga Mailangi, a retired teacher, won third place of $200 for highlighting the right to employment and family support in Tonga. Her son Sosefo received the award on her behalf.
The judges were Dr 'Ungatea Kata and Po'oi Pohiva.
Human Rights
‘Ofa’s short story was titled “Providing Safety for Girls” and tells of a young girl who was sexually abused and sought help from the centre. She quoted the late Nelson Mandela saying “to deny people their human rights is to deny people their humanity.”
“The young girl sought our help at the centre after being sexually abused and this is a challenge we must meet. We must provide her with the assistance she needs to achieve her rights to have access to medical attention at the hospital, to be able to tell police what happened, putting the case to the courts and placing her in a home, where she feels safe and loved by her guardians, while having the basic right to access education,” she said.
Vanessa said the award was a privilege and a dedication to all the young mothers who got pregnant during their school years, particularly at high school and were being told to leave and were not given the opportunity to complete their education.
“We have started a campaign to at least give an opportunity to these girls to continue their schooling, because when we are denying their right to education, we are definitely denying their right to have a better future,” she said.
Protection of chlidren
Meanwhile, 43 countries have ruled that spanking, hitting and canning of children is illegal, while 194 countries say that it is wrong.
The Children’s Rights in Society said it has been 35-years since Sweden became the first country in the world to prohibit corporal punishment of children.
"Even though almost all countries worldwide have ratified the UN adopted Convention on the Rights of Child, which includes protecting children from physical violence, still only a relative few have put legal measures against corporal punishment. 90 percent of the world’s children live in countries where physical violence against them is still legal.”