A National Coordinating Committee on Children (NCCC) spearheaded by the Ministry for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation is working with other agencies to combat all forms of child labour in Fiji.
The Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Rosy Sofia Akbar says that this Committee which includes the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labour and various Non-Government Organisations, is looking at thorough measures and strategies to address child labour in Fiji.
“The renaming of the Ministry with a children’s portfolio is a big step taken by the Fijian government to improve child care services in Fiji. Currently this Committee is identifying children who are supposed to be in school as per government’s education policy and yet, they are used by their parents to supplement the family income. The Ministry does understand that there are families who face financial difficulties, but then again using children to earn a living is not responsible parenting.
“At the offset, it is very important to understand that Children’s Ministry is not the only Ministry that is looking after the welfare of children. A collaborative approach has been taken to address child labour in Fiji, whereby the Ministry has field officers working together with Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Education to see how many children are not in schools and reasons behind it,” Minister Akbar said.
Minister Akbar said that the Committee offers counselling services to families and also financial assistance through the Ministry’s social welfare programs.
“The government’s free education program, free textbook program and free bus fare scheme have provided needed financial relief for parents. The Committee, however, is identifying families whose children are seen into street begging, to find the root of the issues.
“The Ministry will do everything within its means to ensure that the child is put in school, and if families fail to defy the advices we provide, then the Ministry has powers to remove the children and place them within our institutional care homes, keeping in mind the best interests of the child is of paramount,” Mrs Akbar explained.
The Committee, she said is currently, carrying out a profiling exercise throughout major cities and towns to determine the total number of children found into street begging.
Minister Akbar emphasised that the Fijian government is signatory to the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and as such Fiji is duty bound to fulfill its obligations outlined in this Convention.
“In September this year, Fiji presented its 2nd, 3rd and 4th Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) report to UNCRC Committee in Geneva. Furthermore, the Article 41 of our Constitution specifically makes provision for the protection of children from abuse, neglect, harmful cultural practices, any form of violence, inhumane treatment and punishment, and hazardous or exploitive labour or detention,” Mrs Akbar added.