NGOs call for commission on children's rights

NGOs call for commission on children's rights

JAKARTA (JP): Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are
calling on the government to establish a national commission on
children's rights in order to better protect Indonesia's
children, especially street children and child workers.

A group of 29 NGOs made the proposal here yesterday during a
hearing with the House Commission VIII, which oversees health and
social services.

The activists, who deal with neglected children on a daily
basis, reminded legislators that Indonesia ratified the
International Convention on Children's Rights in 1990.
Consequently, the proposed commission would be a logical follow-
up to the goal of protecting children.

The NGOs also said that the commission would be expected to
work with the government in finding solutions to the problems of
child workers and street children.

Sarsito Sarwono, the secretary-general of an NGO called the
National Board on Social Welfare, said the commission should
comprise government officials and NGOs activists. It should also
help provide the government with inputs in drawing up regulations
and laws on child affairs which can be implemented effectively,
he said.

Sarsito explained the urgency of establishing such a
commission in order to prevent the occurrences of child abuse. He
acknowledged that some countries have worse records on abuse of
children's rights.

"We wouldn't want things that have happened in Manila or
Bangkok to happen here," he said.

The Philippines has some 1,500,000 street children as well as
child workers. In Indonesia, about 50,000 children roam the
streets of big cities such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan and
Semarang which have been helped by the NGOS.

During the hearing presided over by Rustandi of the Golkar
faction, the NGOS also criticized the government for laws that
contradicted one another, often at the expense of children's
welfare.

For example, the Ministry of Social Services is responsible
for the welfare of neglected children, but the nine-year
compulsory elementary education program is run by the Ministry of
Education and Culture, the group's spokesman, Amrullah, said.

The problem of street children and child workers, however, was
often left to the NGOs, he said. "There are no regulations which
can comprehensively deal with the root of the problems of street
children."

He pointed out that there are even regulations which aggravate
the problem of street children. Jakarta, for instance, bans cars
with less than three passengers from some thoroughfares during
certain hours.

"This policy creates opportunities for poor children to work
as 'jockeys': paid extra passengers," he said. "Then the police
raid and arrest them."

Amrullah pointed out that Jakarta police have arrested 2,300
"jockeys". (01)