DILI, 21 september 2021 (TATOLI) – The National Parliament had approved in generality, the Draft Law on Child Protection, which will regulate the promotion of children’s rights and the protection of children at risk and in danger, to ensure their well-being and healthy development.
Draft Law No. 29/V (3a) on Child Protection was approved with 54 votes in favor, zero against, and 1 abstention.
“The Draft Law on Child Protection was approved in generality. The next step is Commission F will discuss the draft law in specialty with the relevant entities, including GMPTL,” Acting President of the National Parliament, Angelina Lopes Sarmento announced during the plenary session at the National Parliament, on monday.
The law is based on international and constitutional standards, principles, and requirements, supplementing the existing legislation in the area of child protection. Judicial intervention can occur in situations in which the child is in danger, the people who have custody (parents or guardians) do not ensure protection, and where there are no conditions for the operation of child protection services.
The draft law is made up of 103 articles, and 11 chapters – chapter 1 on general disposition; chapter 2 on the promotion of children’s rights and the protection of children at risk and in danger; chapter 3 on child protection measures; chapter 4 on communication; chapter 5 on the intervention of public prosecutors and so on.
The proponents of the Child Protection Law included MP Noe da Silva Ximenes ‘Buka Tuir’, MP Antonio Verdial de Sousa, MP Felix da Costa ‘Anin Buras’, MP Cidalia Mesquita Ximenes, MP Maria Groumali Barreto, MP Helena Martins Belo, MP Antonio Nobre Tilman, MP Lucia Taeki, MP Veneranda Lemos, and MP Ernesto Fernandes ‘Dudu’.
The National Parliament initiated the Child Protection Law based on Parliament Resolution No.16.2003, 30 July, as Timor-Leste ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and its two protocols: the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography (OPSC) and the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OPAC).
ALFela, Timor-Leste Disability Association (ADTL), Child Fund, National Commission on the Rights of the Child, FOKUPERS, FONGTIL, JSMP, Ministry of Justice (MoJ), Ministry of Health (MoH), the Ministry of Social Solidarity and Inclusion (MSSI), International Labour Organization (ILO), Timor-Leste’s Youth Parliament (TLYP), Plan International, PDHJ, and UNICEF were among the entities that had been advocating the child protection law in the country.
Journalist: Evaristo Soares Martins
Editor: Cancio Ximenes
Translator: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges Rosario
