Absence of child protection law deplored

Leo Wahyudi S, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

An executive of the National Commission for Child Protection has expressed concern over the absence of a law that adequately protects children from violations of their rights, including violence, neglect, discrimination and exploitation.

Arist Merdeka Sirait, the commission's secretary general, criticized the government for its failure to implement in an optimal fashion its duty to provide legal instruments upholding children's rights.

The poor record of achievement has been clear to see in the lengthy deliberations on the draft bill on child protection in the face of the rising incidence of violations against children without any proper intervention, Sirait said in a press conference held on Thursday to disseminate the results of the commission's activities in the period 1998 to 2001.

"This poor record has led to millions of children being exploited both economically and sexually, and the number continues to rise," he said.

That's why the international community, especially the United States, recently classified Indonesia as the country with the third worst record on the trafficking of women and children, after Congo and South Africa, he said.

Sirait said that another problem requiring urgent resolution was the high number of displaced children, caused by the many conflicts in the country.

The condition of displaced children was poor mainly because of inadequate nutrition, illness and low school retention rates, he said.

Therefore, Sirait underlined that it was high time to provide sufficient and non-discriminatory protection that would uphold the best interests of children.

He explained that his commission, set up in cooperation with the United Nations' Children Fund in October 1998, had been entrusted to carry out activities and programs on child protection.

In their implementation, however, the programs had not run as well as expected, mainly because of the limited availability of human resources, funds and appropriate planning, he said.

In order to help facilitate the commission's activities, Sirait, who at the press meeting was accompanied by the commission's chairman Seto Mulyadi, made a number of suggestions, including changing the status of the ratification of the Children Rights Convention from a presidential decree into law.

The commission also urged the House of Representatives to speed up its deliberations on the draft law on child protection.