Welcoming delegates to UWC’s School of Public Health on behalf of Dean Professor Jacques de Ville, Prof. Mezmur paid tribute to the Dullah Omar Institute, co-host of the seminar. He praised its legacy as a cradle of post-apartheid leadership and justice.
“The name Dullah Omar comes with a lot of responsibilities,” he said, referring to the late human rights lawyer and former Minister of Justice in democratic South Africa, who also served as legal counsel to President Nelson Mandela.
Prof. Mezmur extended a warm welcome to Hon. Helen Manyeneng, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Botswana and member of the SADC Parliamentary Forum, who delivered a keynote address and actively participated in discussions. He underscored the importance of political leadership in promoting children’s rights:
“I can confidently say that the children’s rights space is served better with more politicians and parliamentarians getting involved.”
He hailed the seminar’s diverse participation and remarked that what united the delegates was “the love we have for the continent of Africa” and a shared ambition to create “an Africa that is fit for children — more safe than the one we were handed by our parents.”
Turning to global politics and climate action, Prof. Mezmur cited a recent opinion article co-authored by Kenyan President William Ruto, published in The Guardian (South Africa). Quoting from it, he said:
“Among the many shocks currently facing the international development community is the new direction of the US administration on climate, and the implications worldwide for mitigation and adaptation efforts… This is not uncharted territory. While a withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement is undoubtedly a setback, it no longer carries the same level of disruption as it did. The global community has become more resilient and will continue to advance climate action.”
Prof. Mezmur added, “I hope this is true. I hope this is true for the entire world, for the continent, and I hope it is for the SADC region.”
He warned that international development efforts are increasingly shaped — and in some cases jeopardised — by shifting U.S. foreign policy priorities, particularly in the wake of dramatic aid cuts and retreat from multilateralism.
While acknowledging progress made through subregional mechanisms, Prof. Mezmur cautioned that climate change is a global challenge requiring coordinated, synergised efforts.
He encouraged delegates to engage critically with the seminar’s programme, which seeks to go beyond viewing children as a homogeneous group.
“Climate change affects children differently,” he said, warning against the temptation to treat children as a monolith.
Prof. Mezmur also reflected on his two decades of living in Cape Town and shared an anecdote from the city’s near-catastrophic Day Zero water crisis. He pointed out that while there was widespread panic and billion-rand public campaigns, people in informal settlements had long lived without running water — yet their situation was never declared a crisis until it affected the middle class.
“As we begin our conversations today,” he concluded, “let us think about the discrimination, the inequality, the so-called blind spots that affect those on the margins of society.”
The three-day seminar brings together parliamentarians, civil society actors, academics, researchers from the SADC PF SRHR, HIV and AIDS Governance Project, and members of the Secretariat of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
Hosted under the African Children’s Charter Project, the seminar runs under the theme:
“Championing Collective Child-Responsive Climate Action.”
Discussions will focus on how to tailor climate responses to meet the distinct needs of children while amplifying their voices in policy-making processes.
Ends/.
