Child laws vital to end violence against children: Rohani

KUALA LUMPUR: Laws need to be enacted and enforced to end any legalised violence against children, said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim (pix). 

She said it was the key step in changing social norms around violence.

"Furthermore, we need to increase the input to design and implement a comprehensive national agenda with concerted national action for violence prevention and elimination," she said during her closing remark at the 3rd Asia Pacific High Level Meeting on Child Rights themed "A Billion Brains: Smarter Children, Healthier Economies," here today.

She reaffirmed that child rights are fundamental to all societies, thus three main topics of concern were discussed and given attention during the two-day meeting attended by delegates from 26 Asia Pacific countries.

They are Social Protection for Children, Women and Family; Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Preventing Violence Against Children. 
"We note that these three main themes represent issues of growing significance in the region, and areas where greater cooperation with a South-South framework would potentially deliver significant benefits for the countries," she said.

Rohani said some of the key recommendations each country in attendance would like to partake are through initiatives to promote Social Protection for Women, Family and Children, UHC and Preventing Violence against Children as a 'Whole of Government'. 

"This approach is linked to nation-building and the strengthening of citizen development by integrating them into a larger political discourse to build support," she said.

Nearly 300 participants from 26 countries, including representatives of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef) attended the two-day meeting. — Bernama