Somalia will ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child, an international human rights treaty that guarantees care and protection for children, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud announced Wednesday (November 20th).
During a visit to Hamar Jajab School in Mogadishu on International Children's Day, Mohamud said it was time to "reflect that we must ensure our children receive all their basic rights, above all free quality education".
"Today's visit shows our commitment to this landmark and also to our determination to implement our Go to School policy, our aim to provide free quality education to at least one million children within the next three years. It is a real challenge but we must make it," he said in a statement from his office.
To date, more than 33,000 children, most of them in Mogadishu, have enrolled in the free government education programme, according to the African Union.
The convention was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on November 20, 1989.
