Magistrates review child-protection bill

A gathering of magistrates and social workers from all the 16 provinces of the Central African Republic (CAR) is examining the draft of a bill that will, if passed by parliament, offer greater protection to child offenders and separate their places of detention from those of adults. "The aim of this seminar is to put in place a set of laws of procedure for children that are different from the ones for adults," Firmin Feindiro, the president of the Bouar District Court, told IRIN on Tuesday. In July, parliament amended a law, now giving juvenile court judges authority to protect children, Brigitte Balipou-Guino, the chairwoman of the Bangui Juvenile Court, told IRIN. Before the creation of juvenile courts, children were brought before adult courts. Although the juvenile courts were established in 1995, there are still no laid-down regulations spelling out their function and defining their limits. "Now that we have juvenile courts, we must provide them with powers that take into account the protection of children," Feindiro said. The bill is to be submitted to the government for approval before being tabled in parliament for adoption. The formulation of laws governing juvenile courts is part of a long process that started with the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992. "We are implementing the UN Convention," Feindiro added. The seminar, jointly organised by the CAR Ministry of Justice and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), will examine a number of proposals, including the creation of juvenile prisons, educational centres for children in danger, foster families for children who need them, and specialised centres that will receive children in delicate situations. Child offenders in the CAR are most frequently held for rape, assault, battery, and murder, Innocent Ikara, an educator at a UNICEF-sponsored centre for children in need of special attention known as the Foyer de groupe, told IRIN. "Children commit all kind of offences, including theft, assault, indecent exposure and witchcraft," Balipou-Guinou said. This seminar, which ends on Thursday, is part of a joint annual effort by the government and UNICEF to focus on child protection issues. The UNICEF assistant child protection officer in Bangui, Chantal Amokomayen, said UNICEF had allocated US $100,000 to this effort in 2002.