Although Myanmar is a Party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, children in the country still suffer disproportionate risks of early marriage, sexual exploitation, trafficking, neglect and abuse. In order to address these challenges, in 2019, the parliament passed a new Child Rights Law which covers all aspects of a child’s life, including health, education, juvenile justice, children in armed conflict and alternative care arrangements. However, there is still a need to develop rules to guide the law’s implementation.
Funded by the Government of Canada through UNICEF, IDLO is implementing a project working with the Government of Myanmar that aims to strengthen the legal framework for the protection and advancement of child rights, in accordance with international and regional standards. IDLO will provide technical support to the Department of Social Welfare to draft the Child Rights Rules. A series of national and regional consultations will be organized to gather inputs on the draft of the Rules from a range of key stakeholders, including government, civil society and international organizations. Lastly, a capacity building plan will be developed to guide future efforts on rolling out training once the Rules are approved.
Photo Credit: © Cause Photo Travels/Dan Romeo and Flavia Müller
