Efforts exerted to improve condition of children in Yemen [Archives:2007/1106/Local News]
Ismail Al-Ghabri
SANA'A, Nov. 24 ) On the occasion of International Children's Day, official parties announced that they will spare no effort to reduce child labor, trafficking, and smuggling, as well as amend the Juveniles' Law.
Huda Al-Ban, Minister of Human Rights, highlighted methods undertaken by the ministry to protect children against abuse, saying, “The ministry has created a hotline for complaints and notifications of child abuse or any human rights violations.”
Huda went on to say that officials in the ministry receive reports of infringement, adding, “We find juveniles imprisoned, while others are abused in police stations.”
Role of the Ministry of Human Rights
The ministry is attempting to increase the legal age of children to 18 years. Parliement members are currently discussing the amendment. If passed, Yemeni law will comply with conventions and agreements Yemen signed regarding children's rights.
In Yemen, the Juveniles' Law sets the legal age of a child at 15 or younger. The law violates a children's rights document ratified by Yemen; the document establishes children as 18 years of age or younger.
Role of the Democratic School
Jamal As-Shami, principal of the Democratic School, said that Children's Parliament copes with common practices which violate children's rights in Yemen. A committee was formed to defend juveniles, as well as to follow up on their issues. The committee is also in charge of conducting prison visits to ensure that the prisons are free of children. It is also appointed to report incidents of child labor. Some reports reveal that juveniles are still detained, demanding the amendment of the Juveniles' Law. Child labor and gross truancy were also highlighted in the reports.
The reports conducted by Children's Parliament further indicated that there are some shortcomings in girls' education and an absence of girls in schools, due to reasons including a lack of school bathrooms and co-education schools in rural areas. According to the reports, these reasons discourage females from attending schools. There are about two million children absent from school, of which 500,000 are exposed to child labor.
Families encourage child smuggling
In her statement, Ammatul-Razaq Ali, Minister of Social affairs and Labor, confirmed that “children smuggled to Saudi Arabia over the past year amounts to 900 children
