Save the Children International (SCI), an international Non-Governmental Organisation, has advocated for a safe and accessible digital environment for children to acquire quality education.

SCI’s Director, Advocacy, Campaign, Communication and Media, Mr Amanuel Mamo, made the call in Abuja, at an event to commemorate the 2023 International Day of the African Child.

The event with the theme,” The Rights of the Child in the Digital Environment” was organised in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs.

He said that the theme reminds stakeholders and duty bearers to be accountable to progress being made in adopting policies to protect children.

He called on stakeholders to reflect on what needs to be done, to effectively promote the right of children in accessing quality and safe access to e-learning platforms.

Mamo argued that access to quality education and safety of the learning environment has remained a challenge, with children still demanding for their rights to be fully protected and respected.

According to him, digital technologies play a critical role in boosting access to quality education, adding however, that children should be safe while learning online.

He reiterated SCI’s call for the formulation and implementation of a law to tackle violations of children’s rights online.

This, he said, could be achieve through the adoption and domestication of the African Union Convention on Cybersecurity and Personal Data also known as the Malabo Convention.

He added that the legal framework should also include other international instruments, particularly ECOWAS Directive on Fighting Cybercrime, which provide for offenses related to child pornography.