New commissioner seen as being 'the voice of children in society'

Nationalist MP Tonio Fenech augured in parliament yesterday that the new Commissioner for Children would be the voice of children in society, and that he would be heard.

Mr Fenech said during the debate in parliament on the Commissioner for Children bill that children should have a voice in matters which affected them, such as education, the environment and the future shape of pensions.

Children should be told of the enactment of this law and be given an opportunity, such as through school competitions, to say what they felt the commissioner's role should be.

Turning to the Council for Children, which is also being set up in terms of this bill, Mr Fenech observed that the council would advise the commissioner and monitor compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

He agreed with the setting up of a council as a way of allowing people to participate in this sector, but he found it strange that it would also have a monitoring role, since this would overlap with the commissioner's own role.

There could be a further problem if the commissioner investigated a department which sent its own representative on the council.

He also felt older children should have direct representation on the council.

On the commissioner's role to hold investigations, Mr Fenech said he had been initially taken aback to find that the commissioner would not carry out investigations concerning specific, individual conflicts between a child and its parents or guardians.

It had resulted, however, that this role was carried out by the Appogg agency through its Harsien tat-tfal programme.

What this agency was doing should be somehow linked to the work of the commissioner or this role should be assumed by the commissioner.

If this was not possible, because of existing synergy with other programmes, such as the referral programmes, the commissioner should be able to oversee the standard of these programmes. He should also be able to refer cases to Appogg and be given feedback.

Concluding, Mr Fenech observed that the commissioner could make recommendations to government departments and agencies and they would write back to say whether they would implement them, and if not, why. The matter would stop there. He felt that if the department's explanations for non compliance were not adequate, the commissioner should be able to report to a higher authority, such as the House Social Affairs Committee.

Organisations which worked among children should be obliged to submit information to the commissioner and the commissioner should not only monitor developments, but also praise best practice.

Mr Joe Abela (MLP) said the Commissioner for Children could investigate cases and receive complaints, but the bill said little on effective action which the commissioner could take which would be of direct assistance to the child, other than that his reports could be entered as evidence in court cases.

Mr Abela observed that the biggest group of people at risk of poverty were aged up to 19 years old and lived in the southern harbour district. Other figures had also showed that truancy was highest in that area too.

This underlined the need for more emphasis on education for all children and not only for high achievers. No children should be allowed to slip through the net.

Doctors should not issue certificates "haphazardly" to excuse students from going to school. Nor should children be exploited in summer jobs. Malta needed a bill which protected and enforced children's rights, in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In an increasingly consumerist society, there also needed to be emphasis on the value of parents spending more time with their children. One could already see the negative consequences of children not being given enough time by their parents. Children were returning from school to find empty homes, while parents were at work. And one could see that juvenile crime was on the rise.

Labour MP Joseph Cuschieri said it was preoccupying that 13 years after Malta signed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the government had come up with a bill which lacked substance.

It was true that this could be seen as a first step which could lead to further development for the benefit and protection of children. But more had been expected.

In its last electoral programme, the Labour Party had proposed and dedicated a substantial part of its programme to children's rights.

He recalled that when he was young, children's institutes used to be full of children from problem families and others whose parents abandoned them on birth.

Some children lived in institutions for years because they did not know who their parents were. The Labour government had introduced an allowance, bread and milk for every child in institutions.

Children at the time did not have education opportunities, which were later provided by a Labour government.

They were not even vaccinated against diseases and it was the Labour government which had introduced schemes to improve the health of these children.

Although children now enjoyed education, truancy, especially in state schools was alarming. Statistics also showed that many children were finishing their schooling illiterate.

Children, Mr Cuschieri said, had the right to live a quality life. This was what the Labour Party believed. It also believed in the right to life and was against abortion.

Labour wanted the abolition of legislation which discriminated against children born out of wedlock.

Mr Cuschieri said the opposition would continue to insist that this bill was discussed with NGOs before passing through the remaining stages in the House.

Parliamentary Secretary Tony Abela said one had to be careful that the members of the Council for Children were professional and objective.

In their majority, families showed great love towards their children. A system was now being created where cases of abuse towards children could be referred to the commissioner.

The law would ensure that action was taken regarding the small minority of children who suffered because of their parents' or carers' behaviour. This was one way of ensuring a fair and just future for children.

He knew of young children who had complained of maltreatment and abuse, to the extent that the authorities even took them away from their parents.

But he also knew of a case where a 14-year-old girl invented allegations about her father because he did not allow her to stay out long. As a result the father was held under arrest for more than a year until the daughter made a declaration to the police that she had invented the story.

This showed that if one was not careful, the law could be used in an abusive manner. It was therefore important that the people who served on the council were able to analyse whether what they were being told was true or not.

Labour MP Helena Dalli said the opposition had been expecting a Children's Act. This bill was only a very small step but at least it was a step forward.

When discussing children's rights one could not keep the family court out of the discussion. The environment in court was intimidating for adults, let alone for children.

The Family Court should be set up as soon as possible and include professionals to help children with psychological problems.

Mrs Dalli said that despite government promises, there were still no licensed child care centres, let alone the subsidies for parents taking their children to these centres as promised in the last budget. This was not seriousness.

International statistics showed that Malta was among the countries with the greatest proportion of children suffering from asthma, obesity, diabetes and stress.

Maltese students were also among those who drank the most alcohol. This was worrying and urgent remedial action was needed.

That included the education system. Children were not being encouraged to be creative and they were unfortunately being taught in the wrong way, causing them a lot of stress.

Many schools were still ignoring health food policies.

Mrs Dalli called for legislation which would encourage flexible hours at work for parents, so that they would be able to spend more time with their children.

It was also important that legislation on domestic violence was moved without further delay because children would benefit from such a law.

Dr Michael Farrugia (MLP) said the protection given to children should start prior to birth and continue after 16. Unfortunately, many children who started to work when aged 16 were not given fair working conditions.

While this bill had been seen as a step in the right direction, there was need for holistic legislation to incorporate the various areas of law involving children.

Dr Farrugia said children should be educated both with regard to their rights as well as their duties to society.

This was not the first time that parliament was legislating in favour of children.

The Labour government had worked a lot to promote the Health for All concept. This had been the first step towards destroying discrimination between children in well-to-do families and others.

For it was essential that no discrimination was found among children in health and education.

Dr Farrugia said certain schools should give more attention to sports and recreational activities which reduced tension and improved children's health. The commissioner, he said, should promote this.

The debate is expected to continue on Monday.