A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

third periodic reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child describing the measures
taken to give effect to the rights set forth in the Convention on the Rights of the Child by
July 3, 2009; and
• Take all appropriate legislative and other necessary measures to ensure that the provisions
related to health in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Protocol to the African Charter on
Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, and the African Charter on
the Rights and Welfare of the Child are fully reflected in domestic law and practice.
The Liberian constitution, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the
Social Policy (Basic Aims and Standards) Convention, the Declaration on the Right to Development,
Declaration on Social Progress and Development, and Millennium Development Goals provide a
guiding framework in making recommendations related to sustainable and equitable development in
Liberia. The Advocates recommends the following:
• The Government of Liberia should direct its
policies toward the “well-being and development
of the population and to the promotion of its
desire for social progress,” with “due regard to
[more general policies’] effect upon the well-being
of the population.” 304 When planning economic
development, “improvement of standards of living
[must] be regarded as the principal objective.” 305
• The Government of Liberia should recognize
that everyone has the right to enjoy the “highest
attainable standard of physical and mental
health.” 307 The Liberian government should take
steps to achieve realization of this right, including
measures required for:
o The reduction of the stillbirth-rate and
infant mortality and for the healthy
development of the child;
o The improvement of all aspects of
environmental and industrial hygiene;
o The prevention, treatment, and control
of epidemic, endemic, occupational, and
other diseases; and
o The creation of conditions that would
assure to all citizens medical service and
medical attention in the event of sickness
457
Chapter Fourteen
Potential Implementation Strategy:
Education and Agricultural
Development
In Malawi, the Millennium Villages
Project impacts the lives of people on
many levels. The program provides
fertilizer and maize seeds for cultivation
on individual farms. Those who receive
these supplies must contribute bags of
maize to a community grain bank after
cultivation. The community participating
in the program also sets aside land to
raise new trees and plants nitrogenfixing
trees to ensure the sustainability
of the program. Finally, the community
grain bank allows the community
not only to access maize at a price
agreed upon by the community when
government grain provision is running
low, but also to use the maize as a part
of a feeding program for the community
schools. Community volunteers prepare
the community maize to provide meals
once a day to pupils; the provision of
meals has greatly enhanced education
performance in the area. 306