WASHINGTON, DC  •  BRUSSELS  •  BAGHDAD

Institute for
International Law and Human Rights

Civil & Political Rights Economic, Social, & Cultural Rights Minority Rights Women's Rights

Legislative Review of the Draft Law on Child Protection

Analyzes the Child Protection draft law. Main areas of concern and comment include expanding the scope of the law to encompass all the rights guaranteed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child; ensuring that the law does not discriminate on any basis; adding provisions against practices harmful to girls’ rights, such as female genital mutilation; abolishing or amending existing legislation that contravenes the Convention on the Rights of the Child; strengthening legal penalties for those who harm children; using terminology that conforms to international standards and clearly and consistently defining the term “children”; clarifying the processes and measures for implementing the law’s provisions; elaborating on the roles and responsibilities of the National Childhood Committee and the Childhood Protection Department created by the law; and mandating that the new Committee and Department are adequately staffed by qualified personnel, including a minimum number of women.