SADC Parliamentary Forum
A high-level regional seminar to address the impact of climate change on children is underway in Cape Town, South Africa, under the theme “Championing Collective Child-Responsive Climate Action.”
The seminar is taking place from 2 to 4 July 2025 at the School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape (UWC).
Organised by the Children’s Rights Project of the Dullah Omar Institute at UWC, the seminar has convened key actors from governments, civil society organisations, academic institutions, and regional bodies working at the intersection of child rights, environmental law, and climate justice.
The seminar comes against the backdrop of an escalating climate emergency that poses serious threats to children across the SADC region. According to a recent continental study by the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC), children are already suffering the consequences of climate-induced disasters such as displacement, hunger, school dropouts, child labour, and early marriage, as floods, droughts, and storms ravage communities.
“In SADC, the climate crisis is not a distant threat. It is here, it is now, and it is profoundly impacting our children’s health, education, protection, and development,” a concept note shared ahead of the seminar underscores.
Countries such as Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, and Madagascar have seen entire school systems disrupted, with over 1.8 million children in Zimbabwe alone missing school due to the 2024 drought.
The seminar seeks to:
Assess the integration of children’s rights into national and regional climate policies;
Examine the specific threats children face in the climate crisis;
Secure commitments from governments to adopt child-sensitive climate laws; and
Develop concrete recommendations for SADC-wide reforms.
Sessions will be guided by continental legal instruments such as the African Union Climate Strategy (2022–2032) and the draft SADC Protocol on Children, which calls for states to adopt policies that safeguard children’s access to clean air, food, education, and healthcare amidst climate disruptions.
The three-day programme is divided into two streams. The first two days include joint sessions for all delegates, focusing on:
The state of climate change and child rights in Africa
Governance, humanitarian response, and climate migration
Just energy transitions and climate financing
Integration of children’s rights in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs)
Key speakers include:
Dr. Musavengana Chibwana, Senior Technical Advisor with the African Union Commission
Prof. Ademola Jegede, University of Venda
Prof. Maria Assim, who teaches International Human Rights Law at UWC
Representatives from the Centre for Environmental Rights, Save the Children, and ACERWC
The third day will focus exclusively on civil society strategic engagement and advocacy tools. Sessions will cover:
Climate litigation
Framing national advocacy strategies
Simplifying climate science for grassroots activism
Participants include delegates from SADC Member States, such as:
Researchers under the SADC Parliamentary Forum’s Sweden-funded SRHR, HIV and AIDS Governance Project
National climate and child welfare focal points
Representatives from the African Union and ACERWC
Legal and academic experts on climate justice
Regional and South African civil society organisations
Lawmakers from the SADC Parliamentary Forum, which has been instrumental in mainstreaming children’s rights across regional legislative frameworks, are also participating.
Despite the existence of over 27 regional protocols, the SADC climate agenda remains largely silent on children. Organisers argue this gap must urgently be addressed to recognise children as rights-holders and agents of change.
Expected outcomes include:
Strengthened cross-border coordination on child-responsive climate action
Enhanced advocacy tools for civil society organisations
A set of actionable regional recommendations for policy harmonisation
Some sessions will explore climate financing innovations, such as carbon credits and dedicated funds to address risks faced by children. Delegates will also deliberate on legal frameworks to curb harmful fossil fuel practices while promoting green energy transitions that protect the most vulnerable.
Ultimately, this seminar aims to ensure that children’s voices, vulnerabilities, and aspirations are central to how SADC responds to the climate emergency.
Experts, including Dr. Chibwana, have warned that the region is already facing more intense cyclones, heatwaves, droughts, and floods. This gathering seeks to deliver a unified call to action—a climate-safe, equitable future for every child in Southern Africa.
Ends/.
A SADC regional seminar on children’s rights and climate change got underway in Cape Town on 2 July 2025, with the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Botswana, Hon. Helen Manyeneng, challenging SADC parliamentarians to reimagine climate governance through the eyes of the region’s most vulnerable, its children.
Speaking at the opening of the seminar, Hon. Manyeneng, a member of the SADC Parliamentary Forum, made a call to action, warning that “the storm is already upon us” and that children are bearing the brunt.
DECLARAÇÃO DA SECRETÁRIA-GERAL DO FP-SADC SOBRE O DIA INTERNACIONAL DO PARLAMENTARISMO 30 DE JUNHO DE 2025
30 Jun. 2025Caros Colegas/parceiros,
É com imensa satisfação que venho emitir a presente declaração aos distintos parlamentos membros e parceiros do Fórum na ocasião da celebração do Dia Internacional do Parlamentarismo neste 30 de Junho de 2025.
STATEMENT FROM THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE SADC-PF ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PARLIAMENTARISM 30TH JUNE 2025
30 Jun. 2025Dear Colleagues/partners,
It is with immense pleasure that I release this statement to the Forum’s august Member Parliaments and partners in view of celebrating the International Day of Parliamentarism on this 30th June 2025.
STATEMENT FROM THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE SADC-PF ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PARLIAMENTARISM 30TH JUNE 2025
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WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA - A three-day regional workshop got underway in Cape Town on Tuesday to finalise a pioneering Digital Dashboard to track implementation of the SADC Model Law on Eradicating Child Marriage and Protecting Children Already in Marriage.
The SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF) and other partners convened the meeting that brings together delegates including Monitoring and Evaluation specialists, data scientists, SRHR researchers, youth activists and civil-society partners from SADC Member States, with several participating online.
WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA – The Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF) has joined the National Assembly of Angola in mourning the passing of Honourable Diamantino Domingos Mussokola, an Angolan legislator and active member of the Forum, who died on Friday, 13 June 2025, in Luanda at the age of 54.
In a statement issued in Luanda, the Speaker of the National Assembly of Angola, Hon. Carolina Cerqueira, paid tribute to the late parliamentarian, hailing his legacy of humility, camaraderie, and wisdom.
BUSINESS UNUSUAL AS SADC PF URGES IMPLEMENTATION FOLLOWING MOU SIGNINGS WITH STRATEGIC PARTNERS
11 Jun. 2025The SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF) has urged its partners to focus on implementation following the successful signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) last week.
The SADC PF formalised MoUs with Oxfam, Southern Africa Youth Forum (SAYoF), Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA), the Electoral Commissions Forum of SADC countries (ECF-SADC) and the Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) on the margins its 57th Plenary Assembly Session hosted by the Parliament of Zimbabwe in Victoria Falls City.
VICTORIA FALLS, ZIMBABWE - The SADC Parliamentary Forum has signed five Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with key regional and international organisations towards inclusive and strategic collaboration.
The MoUs with Oxfam, Southern Africa Youth Forum (SAYoF), Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA), the Electoral Commissions Forum of SADC countries (ECF-SADC) and the Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) were signed on the margins the SADC PF’s 57th Plenary Assembly Session hosted by the Parliament of Zimbabwe in Victoria Falls City last week.