Homepage > Thai Youth Issues > Long delay in endorsement gives rise to grave concern

Date: 17th June 2000, Bangkok Post

Amendments forced by Council of State

Anjira Assavanonda

Concern has been raised over the delay in the endorsement of a child protection bill, the country's most comprehensive legislation ever drafted concerning children.

The bill, proposed by the National Youth Bureau, allows social organisations at all levels to play an important role in protecting child rights.

It also aims to plug loopholes in the current law on child rights which centres around two outdated orders of a military junta in 1972.

The new law will protect children from all forms of exploitation, including child labour, child prostitution, and even defamation through the media.

Somchai Charoen-amnuaysuk, of the bureau, said the draft which went to the cabinet in March last year was being delayed by unforeseen obstacles.

"Articles on establishing a new state body and a fund for child protection were objected to by the Civil Service Commission and the Budget Bureau, and some amendments were needed."The draft received cabinet approval in February and was forwarded to the Council of State for further consideration.

Sanphasit Koompraphant, director of the Centre for the Protection of Children's Rights who sits on the drafting committee, said the draft has been with the council for nearly four months now, but it has yet to appoint a child rights specialist to examine the draft.

The bill might not be endorsed before a House dissolution expected by the year's end, he added.

On Thursday, the bureau organised a seminar for child rights workers to stress the importance of the bill and prepare them for its enforcement.

Jarun Pakdithanakul, who chairs the drafting panel, said the bill is based on three main principles.

The first is a child-centred principle, meaning every measure or mechanism related to this law must be for the benefit of children.

The second is to focus on children at risk of criminal involvement. The law must provide proper treatment for these children by not pushing them into the criminal justice procedure unnecessarily.

The third is to protect children without taking them away from their families and communities. Mr Jarun said budget constraints could pose a major obstacle for implementation of the new law. State subsidies would not be coming under the amended bill once a child protection fund is established, he added.