Monday
18th Nov 2024
Dhivehi Edition
Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology
The Current Laws do not Sufficiently Protect Children’s Rights: Ihusaan
Homeland Security and Technology Minister Ali Ihusaan.
Minister of Homeland Security and Technology Ali Ihusaan has said that the laws that exist in the justice system for children make it difficult for the various agencies in the country to ensure the rights of children.
The Minister was speaking at the opening ceremony of the Juvenile Justice Symposium organized by the Department of Juvenile Justice of the Home Ministry and UNICEF to identify and address the challenges faced by the institutions involved in the implementation of the Child Justice Act.
The Minister said that the passage and implementation of a Child Justice Act is one of the most important steps taken in the field of law enforcement in Maldives’ constitutional life. However, the Minister noted that the Act has not been amended in line with the changes in the criminal environment. The Minister also noted that there has been negligence in enforcing such an important law.
The laws of the country are not adapting to the pace at which criminal activity is changing. The laws we need to develop should have their delivery sped up. For example, if the salary law was proposed in the morning, passed in the afternoon, approved in the evening and we were paid at night, this would be real efficiency. However, in such sensitive matters as Child Protection, from 2019 to now, there has only been 1 amendment. But our law enforcement agencies are talking day and night about the need to reform this law. This should be a priorityHomeland Minister Ali Ihusaan
While the responsibilities of the system are divided among different institutions, there are conflicting responsibilities in the way the law is made and interpreted, he said. The Minister also asked the participants to prepare to submit to the Parliament the changes they want to make to the law at the end of the symposium.
The opening ceremony of the three-day Juvenile Justice Symposium was attended by Commissioner of Police Ali Shujau, Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem and the UNICEF Country Representative to Maldives.
The opening ceremony of the three-day Juvenile Justice Symposium was attended by Commissioner of Police Ali Shujau, Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem and the UNICEF Country Representative to Maldives.