No records a snag

BY REBECCA KUKU
THE lack of records such as birth certificates, is a major prosecution issue in child labour cases, says National Office for Child and Family services chief executive officer Simon Yanis.
Yanis said the lack of such records for many children made it easy for people to use them for cheap labour.
“We have received reports of children working in clubs and in foreign-run shops (in Port Moresby),” he said.
“But what can we do when there are no records.
“We bring them in, they just fake their age.
“There’s no way to prove otherwise without any records.”
He said it was why registering the birth of children was very important.
“Have a database with records of every child in Papua New Guinea so that we can check in on them, monitor them and keep them safe,” he said.
Yanis said having records would also improve the quality and distribution of child services.
“This is something that we want to do but we lack the funding and resources to carry this out,” he said.
“But I believe that if we have a database that keeps a record of all Papua New Guinean children, we can in a way address the homeless children issue, child prostitution and labour issue, and get more children into the public education system with access to basic health services,” he said.