President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Sunday constituted the ‘Child and Family Protection Services’, an agency established under the newly introduced Child Rights Protection Act.
The agency will assume responsibility for cases previously undertaken by the Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services in protecting the rights of children.
The Child Rights Protection Act outlines the rights and responsibilities for children, duties of the state, community and parents to protect such rights, and it seek to reduce disparities between the previous law and international child protection laws and standards.
Unanimously approved on November 14, 2019, by the 66 MPs in attendance, the Act strongly prohibits inhumane actions against children in homes, education centres or any institution where children are kept.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih also formed the presidential Commission to Inquire into Child Rights Violations on February 21.
According to a circular released by the President's Office, the Commission is tasked with investigating and assessing all institutions and state parties relevant to the protection of children.
The Commission is also mandated to identify the root cause of all violations against children, recommend reforms for "systematic failures" and compile a comprehensive report to be submitted to the president.
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