Jordan Times
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Parliamentarians to
review legislation on rights of the child
According to global studies, around 13.5 million of the estimated 250
million
child labourers toiling worldwide are located in the Arab world
By Dalya Dajani
AMMAN — Arab parliamentarians involved in child rights-based action programmes
in their own countries can now refer to a UNICEF handbook that provides
guidelines for improved direction and policy making for child protection.
The handbook, launched yesterday at the first Arab Parliamentarian Conference on
Child Protection, spells out a series of practical steps in which
parliamentarians can exercise their power to promote the welfare of the child.
As signatories to the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC),
the 22 country representatives from the Arab Parliamentary Union (APU) are bound
by international obligation to ensure legislative progress towards that end.
These include improvements in areas such as child labour, child abuse, child
prostitution and guaranteeing access to education and health services.
According to global studies, around 13.5 million of the estimated 250 million
child labourers toiling worldwide are located in the Arab world.
Figures released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) reveal that more than 40
million children below the age of 15 suffer from domestic abuse and neglect
around the world.
Initial studies conducted by the WHO in the Arab region concur with these
findings.
Lower House Speaker Abdul Hadi Majali told the gathering that Jordan had
undertaken great strides over the past decade to bring domestic legislation in
line with the CRC.
Majali said the continuous review of existing legislation was part and parcel of
the Kingdom's efforts to provide a safe and healthy environment for children to
develop.
“Jordan's Parliament enforces the implementation of children's rights through
legislation pertaining to child rights, and by having endorsed international
conventions and agreements,” said Majali.
“We are continuing to work on developing child protection mechanisms to ensure
that every child has the right to free primary education, to secure the
physical, mental and social well-being of the child,” he added.
He cited the Family Protection Department of the Public Security Department,
established in 2000 to address domestic violence and child abuse, as an example
of the country's commitment.
Another example was the recent provision that ensures thousands of children
under the age of six are provided with national health insurance.
During the meeting, APU members made brief presentations on some of the
programmes their countries are undertaking in this field.
In Egypt, this included health awareness programmes to curb the traditional
practice of female genital mutilation. As for Morocco, a short documentary
showed the impact of vocational and educational intervention programmes
targeting thousands of child labourers working in traditional craft workshops in
the ancient city of Fez.
UNICEF's Inter-Parliamentarian Union Handbook on Child Protection for
Parliamentarians, released in the Arabic version, reminds parliamentarians of
their power to adopt and enforce laws that protect children. It also guides them
towards ensuring that child rights-based programmes receive adequate funding and
reminds them of the accountability of the government to ensure all provisions
are fully adhered to.
So far, in their draft action proposal, members of the APU pledged their
commitment to review all domestic legislation with regard to its compliance to
the CRC and consider adopting two optional protocols by 2010.
These are the optional protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and
Child Pornography and the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in
Armed Conflict.
With regard to legislation, the APU also aims to ensure that national
legislation complies with Article 37 of the CRC, which guarantees that
incarcerating children should be used as a last resort and for the shortest time
possible.
Within the context of budget allocation, the APU will work to ensure that by the
end of 2007 sufficient funds are allocated within national budgets to allow
medical staff and law enforcement personnel to carry out identification,
investigation and the referral of abused children in a professional manner. The
draft action plan also recommends the establishment of an ombudsman for children
in Arab parliaments by the year 2010.
In today's final session, the parliamentarians are expected to form a joint
declaration and a plan of action to ensure see the implementation of these
time-bound goals.