Urgent need for independent Children’s Commission, say civil society groups

PETALING JAYA: There is an urgent need for an independent Children’s Commission which will promptly act on issues affecting children, say child rights advocates and civil society organisations.

“We, the undersigned child advocates and civil society organisations for children, urge the government to establish an independent Children’s Commission that will act quickly on issues affecting children,” they said in a joint statement on Saturday (Sept 16).

The group added that the Commission should also safeguard, uphold and promote child rights.

It added that a single commissioner under the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) may not have the necessary time, authority and resources to effectively address the gaps and guide the government on how to prioritise resource allocations to ensure the well-being of children.

The Covid-19 pandemic, they said, had revealed serious and systemic gaps in the care and protection of children, which have yet to be dealt with and resolved.

“The time to act is now, we must stop failing our children,” the group said.

They said there is a need for an independent Children’s Commission which reports directly to Parliament. This will enable all Parliamentarians to have oversight over children in Malaysia.

“Monitoring their rights and progress is fundamental to the growth and future of our nation and society. Should today’s leaders fail our children, that is a failure of stewardship of the nation’s future leaders, voters and workforce,” said the group.

It added that the body must also be adequately funded and have commissioners with expertise in issues affecting children.

They then said that the body must also have staff capable of supporting ministries, departments and agencies by providing their much-needed expertise to strengthen policies, processes and procedures.

“Lawmakers, ministers and civil servants who are subjected to transfers cannot be expected to be subject matter experts,” the group said.

A Children’s Commission, with commissioners who have a strong grasp of the realities of diverse groups of children in marginalised circumstances, would be in a position to examine the impact of laws, policies and procedures on children,” the group added.

It said that proposed commissioners should also be able to articulate the recommendations effectively in line with the laws, policies and procedures with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and two of its three Optional Protocols that Malaysia has ratified.

They also said that the policies, laws and procedures recommended should also be in line with Malaysian legislation covering child rights.

It added that the commission must be comprehensive and have a wide scope to cover all critical children-related areas such as the strengthening of child protection and work to end child poverty.

Other areas that it should cover include improvements to child health service delivery, advance inclusive education for children with diverse disabilities, improvements to early childhood care and education and early intervention services.

It added that the commission should also be able to improve the status of migrants, refugees and stateless; improve services for children in conflict with the law.

This includes the prevention of detention of any child, and end to child marriages, a reduction in the rate of teenage pregnancies as well as support for indigenous children and the removal of barriers to citizenship for the children of Malaysian parents.

“The Children’s Commission must be able to recognise and remedy violations of children’s rights as they occur, by applying good practice and human rights standards,” the group said.

The group also hoped that all lawmakers regardless of party would care enough about Malaysia’s children to unanimously support the Bill for the establishment of an independent Children’s Commission.

The statement was signed by 75 signatories comprising child rights groups and advocates.

Dr Farah Nini Dusuki was appointed as the Children’s Commissioner to Suhakam for a three-year term effective March 8.