26/05/2025
Eritrean Human Rights Association (EHRA)
Official Statement on the Protection of Children Aged 0–7: A Call for Urgent Policy Reform in Early Childhood Education
Subject: Grave Concern Regarding Institutional Treatment of Toddlers and the Urgent Need to Reinstate the Home as the Primary Learning Environment for Ages 0–7
As the Eritrean Human Rights Association (EHRA), we issue this public statement with a sense of profound concern and urgent moral responsibility regarding recent incidents reported in early childhood institutions—specifically involving the mishandling and mistreatment of toddlers under the age of three.
We are deeply alarmed by the recurring failures of school administrators and caretakers entrusted with the emotional and cognitive development of our youngest citizens. The disturbing reality is that some individuals tasked with nurturing children are, in fact, emotionally unfit to do so—masking their deficiencies behind institutional routines, disciplinary language, or false displays of kindness.
Let it be clear: No educator or caregiver who lacks emotional sensitivity and developmental understanding should be permitted near toddlers, let alone given the authority to shape their formative years.
A Child Is Not a Statistic. They Are Soul in Formation
Between birth and age seven, a child is at their most neurologically, emotionally, and spiritually impressionable. This is not merely a developmental phase it is a sacred window of becoming. Every tone of voice, every gesture, and every environment leaves a permanent imprint.
When this stage of development is mishandled, particularly by individuals who project control rather than care, the harm transcends the moment it becomes a wound buried in the architecture of the self.
We are witnessing a systemic issue in which emotional harm is normalized, disguised as discipline or socialization, and parents are pressured into entrusting their children to environments that may not be psychologically safe.
This must stop.
Policy Declaration: Return Ages 0–7 to the Home Learning Environment
In response, the EHRA calls for the immediate and long-term implementation of a national and international policy whereby children aged 0 to 7 shall be educated primarily within the home environment, under the direct emotional guidance and involvement of parents or trusted guardians.
We propose:
Parental learning hubs to support parents in their educational role.
Micro-community teaching models, combining traditional values and modern pedagogy.
Regular mental health and developmental training for any adult working with children under 7.
Establishment of a National and international Oversight Board for Early Childhood Emotional Safety.
This policy is grounded in both cultural truth and developmental science. tradition has long emphasized the centrality of the family unit in moral and spiritual growth. Modern neuropsychology now confirms this: young children thrive in emotionally attuned, low-stress, and identity-affirming environments.
Unmasking Institutional Apathy
Too often, the institutions wear smiles while practicing emotional neglect.
Too often, we excuse mistreatment because it lacks physical evidence.
But let us never forget: psychological violence exists in silence, in dismissal, in cold indifference.
When a toddler is humiliated or ignored, when a caregiver’s energy is cold, when institutional norms override empathy we are not educating children; we are betraying their trust.
We urge all citizens, educators, policymakers, and faith leaders to recognize the sacred duty of child-rearing, and to no longer allow bureaucratic structures or outdated models to define what care looks like.
A National and Pan-African Issue
While this declaration is Eritrean in origin, the crisis is global in scope. The EHRA calls upon international partners, particularly within the African Union and United Nations Human Rights Council, to prioritize early childhood emotional safety as a core component of human rights policy.
A child’s soul is not a space for institutional experimentation.
It is a sacred garden that must be protected, nurtured, and understood.
We stand not only to challenge those who fail our children but to rebuild systems that centre their humanity.
For every children. For the world's future.
Eritrean Human Rights Association (EHRA)
33 Orange Street,
London, United Kingdom
Date: 26/05/2025
