Knowing what to do: A 13-year-old holding up a flyer on child safety procedures in Kuala Lumpur. — RAJA FAISAL HISHAN/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: The missing piece in discussing children’s rights is the participation of the children themselves as direct stakeholders in these issues, say experts.
Professor Emeritus of Law at Chulalongkorn University of Thailand Vitit Muntabhorn said although governments did not neglect children’s issues, there were still missing elements in how they approached them.
“In a way, there are competing priorities (issues) at the national level. There are political considerations in terms of how much access we have.
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“Generally, the government doesn’t neglect children’s issues. They are there in terms of a national plan and laws ... but there are the missing elements of the child as a direct stakeholder and effective implementation in accordance with international standards, bearing in mind local wisdom,” he added.
Prof Vitit said what little voices had been raised have had little impact on implementation and change.
“We need substantial input from young people,” he said.
Prof Vitit was one the panellists at the International Symposium on Empowerment of Children’s Commission: Strengthening Rights and Safeguarding Futures, held at the Asian International Arbitration Centre here yesterday.
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The two-day symposium was organised by the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department, Unicef Malaysia, the Delegation of the European Union to Malaysia, and the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam).
The National Children’s Commissioner of Australia Anne Hollonds said that when it came to children’s issues, the attitude there was often to pass the responsibility on to parents instead of the government taking charge.
However, she said the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Australia has ratified, says otherwise – that governments should support families in this.
“This is where the gap lies, whereby families with complex problems like poverty, disadvantages of different kinds and disabilities, are not getting the help they need. This is where the government needs to do more.
“But we also need to ask the children what they need because it will vary from place to place. In Australia, we have big cities with certain issues and in remote areas, there are different issues.
“First we need to listen (to children) and maximise the opportunities for families to get all the help (they need),” she said.
Hollonds also said many children were aware of issues, especially those affecting the adults in their families.
She added that many children in such environments tend to be more mature because they have not gone through a proper childhood development.
“Their needs haven’t been met and their development has been compromised. They may face drug, alcohol, mental or other complex problems.
“We need to ensure their childhoods and the child development process are protected. To do that, we need to ensure the well-being of adults as well because it has a big effect on the wellbeing of the children,” she said.
