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.