Govt told to protect destitute children

Govt told to protect destitute children

Debbie A Lubis, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Even as the bill on child protection is likely to be approved
by the House next Tuesday, people are still skeptical about
whether the government is really committed to protecting
children, especially destitute children.

There are still too many helpless children wandering the
streets, and yet no significant efforts have been taken by the
government to help them, according to non-governmental
organization (NGO) activists.

Activists hope that the bill, when it is signed into law by
President Megawati Soekarnoputri later in July, will encourage
the government to play an active role, together with NGOs, to
protect destitute children.

Pandji Putranto, national program coordinator for the
International Labor Organization (ILO), said the government
should prepare regulations that support the law.

"When this bill is passed into law, it will be one step
forward for the country's child protection program," Pandji told
The Jakarta Post.

"Nevertheless, we must ensure that the law is implemented
fully through various regulations, as we are still three or four
steps behind neighboring countries."

Pandji said the first thing the government should do after the
law was enacted was establish regulations and allocate enough
funds to support the establishment of more rehabilitation centers
for children, especially to treat child prostitutes and drug
users.

"Especially for poor children whose parents cannot afford to
send their children to rehabilitation centers, the government
should provide free services to rehabilitate their children," he
said.

The government should then establish a clear-cut
accountability mechanism for such centers to prevent misuse of
state money as well as donations from the community and foreign
donors.

According to the Center for Children in Need of Special
Protection, there are around 11.7 million children who are
neglected or have been abandoned or displaced, while some 70,000
children across the country work on the streets.

Damanhuri Rosadi, executive director of the Indonesian Child
Welfare Foundation (YKAI) praised the bill as being comprehensive
and for protecting children from all forms of discrimination,
exploitation, violence, persecution and illiteracy.

He agreed with how the bill gives rights to society --
including individuals, child protection institutions, social
organizations, religious institutions, business institutions and
the mass media -- to handle the problem of neglected children
through institutional and noninstitutional approaches.

The center's executive director, Arist Merdeka Sirait, said
the government should also encourage families to protect
destitute children by designing family-based rehabilitation
programs.

"Poor children could still stay with their families even
though they are financially supported by sponsors, for example,"
Arist said.

Nurdiati Akma, a legislator at the House of Representatives
Commission VII for population and welfare affairs, said that the
law was a gift for Indonesian children, who will observe National
Children's Day on July 23.

The House is slated to convene a plenary session on Tuesday to
approve the child protection bill. Megawati is scheduled to sign
the bill into law on July 17.