Protection system lacking

By SAMUEL BARIASI
PAPUA New Guinea does not have a sustainable child protection system because the required institutions are yet to be fully established, National Office of Child and Family Services (NOCFS) director Simon Yanis says.
Yanis said the four institutions required by law were NOCFS, National Council for Child and Family Services, National Children’s Trust Fund and Family Court.
“If we can completely establish these institutions and make them visible, we will have a permanent child protection mechanism in place,” he said.
He said a plan was already in place and would involve inter-government agencies to ensure the proposed child protection programme was permanent and sustainable.
“We will need the support of different stakeholders and Government agencies to make sure this programme does not perish but rather successfully maintained in the long run.” In celebrating World Children’s Day yesterday, Yanis thanked the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) for supporting Papua New Guinean children for the last 30 years.
“Without the support of Unicef, we would not be able to come this far,” he said.
PNG Unicef representative David Mcloughlin said it was the Government’s responsibility to protect the rights and interests of children.
Mcloughlin told a group of children yesterday that the youth made up almost half of the population in the country, therefore they needed to be protected.
“We need to take care of you because you will be taking care of this country in the future.
“We will make sure you are healthy, you get a good education and you are protected from violence and abuse.”
Mcloughlin thanked the Government for developing good policies, directions and interventions to impact the lives of children.