Labour would end discrimination against illegitimate children

A new labour government would draw up a charter of children's rights and appoint a council for the protection of children's rights, Labour leader Alfred Sant said yesterday.

It would also repeal laws that discriminated between children of married couples and children born out of wedlock.

An Ombudsman for children would also be appointed to inquire into complaints and abuses brought to his or her attention and offer a remedy.

Speaking at a press conference, Dr Sant said regulations and structures governing child-minders and child-minding services would be set up for the welfare of children and child minders themselves.

A regulatory framework would be set up to shield children against blatant advertising and marketing campaigns.

"We would have to screen children from certain marketing campaigns and to see how morally ethical such campaigns are.

"The government will see what kind of protection could be afforded to children against merchants of pornography and paedophilia on the Internet," Dr Sant said.

Answering questions, the Labour leader said the MLP had not taken a stand on divorce because it had hoped that civil society would give the lead on this topic.

A Labour government would review the system of the children's allowance and would be prepared to amend it depending on the particular circumstance obtaining in the country, he said.

Labour education spokesman Evarist Bartolo complained that schools have been turned into a "battlefield" where children were prepared for exams.

It was no wonder, he said, that many children and adults showed little interest in music, the theatre and the arts.

The education system had become tortuous because of the extreme pressure being put on students, who had to tackle far too many subjects and wide-ranging syllabi.

"Housing estates were being built without giving a thought for the needs of children," Mr Bartolo said.

Marie Louise Coleiro, party spokesman on social policy, said that 55 per cent of all single-parent families with one child ran the risk of falling under the breadline.

Children with disability under the inclusive system had no school to go to after they completed primary education. Sixty per cent of all gainfully employed people lacked a formal education while nine per cent were illiterate.