The Government of Dominica has objected to a poor ranking given by the Children Rights International Network (CRIN) in a report on the access of justice to children on the island, saying it does not reflect the country’s position on the matter.
To that end the Government has written to CRIN, expressing what it said is its “objections to the report and has requested that the report take into consideration the responses from the Office of the Attorney-General and to revise the report and ranking.”
In the report, CRIN ranked Dominica 145th out of 197 countries around the world in terms of children’s access to justice.
The report takes into account whether children can bring lawsuits when their rights are violated, the legal resources available to them, the practical considerations for taking legal action and whether international law on children’s rights is applied in national courts.
According to the report, Dominica ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1991 but the treaty was not directly incorporated into domestic law and requires implementing laws.
To date, no comprehensive Children’s Act or child-specialised courts have been created in Dominica, the report indicates.
The report also shows that children on the island can generally bring cases through a “next friend” but the court has the power to remove or change this person.
In a statement, the Government said it has reviewed the report and the Office of the Attorney General has provided seven objections to it.
The seven objections are outlined below:
1. The report stated that the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was ratified on the 13th of March, 1991. The CRC has not been incorporated into the laws of Dominica, however the Court has used the CRC in its decision making process, example in the case of the State v Andrew Valmond DOMHCV2010/0297.
2. A child can bring a civil case pursuant to part 23 of the Civil Procedure Rules. The rules allow for a parent, guardian or someone appointed by the court to bring the claim on behalf of the minor as his or her “next friend”. The Magistrate Code of Procedure Chap 4:02 makes similar provisions.
3. The Legal Aid Clinic has been instrumental in offering its services to low income families of Dominica at a relatable fee. The Legal Aid Clinic mainly provide services in family matters whether it is domestic violence or protection orders for members of the family including children.
4. The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Dominica provided that any person may apply to the court for redress where their constitutional rights have been breached. These proceeding can be brought by a representative of the child. The Employment of Children (prohibition) Act, Chap 90:05 and the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act, Chap 90:06 further provides for the protection of children for child labour and exploitation of child labour.
5. The Children and Young Person Act Chap 37:50 Act speaks solely to Juveniles (a person under the age of 18 years) and their proceedings and procedure before the Court. The only area which contains provisions relating to their care and protection is Part II which titles ‘Prevention of cruelty to and the protection of Juveniles’.
6. There is a Juvenile Court established under the Children and Young Persons Act Chap 37:50. The Act provides for a separate court (not necessarily building) to deal with juvenile matters. The magistrate can make decisions on how each case will be dealt with and the punishment to be handed down.
7. There has been more reporting of case of child sexual abuse around the country as there have been many campaign efforts by the Ministry of Social Services and Gender and other NGO entities to raise awareness of child abuse. The information provided informs the public of how and where help can be obtained. Most of these cases are referred to the Legal Aid Clinic.
The statement concluded that the report did “not give a true reflection of the country position as it relates to access to justice for children.”
“There is a lot of work which must be done statute wise to bring the laws of the country into conformity to adhere to our treaty obligations. The Child Justice Bill when enacted will replace the Children and Young Persons Act Chap 37:50 and cover a broad area of law. The Bill covers areas from Criminal Responsibility to Sentencing of child,” the statment said.
Again, this is a social issue that is suppose to be brought to each home in Dominica. Government cannot raise your child. If certain situations are not reported then Government cannot help. If i was Government , I would not even respond to that figure because those people from International organisations just looking to
to spoil our children like what they have in the USA.
Since when is it necessary for children to have their own court?
Is it not true that there is one justice system and it applies to each and every one of us?
The idea that a child can “sue” a parent is nonsense. It leads to rebellion and delinquency. Children are to obey their parents. A parent who abuses a child can be charged and tried under the existing laws. Charges would be laid by the police if they thought they had sufficient evidence. The trial would proceeds as any other trial.
Every school should have a designated teacher, counselor, or nurse students know they can talk to if somebody is troubling them. That individual would go with them to the police if necessary. A child has the same access to justice any adult has.
There should be a law making it mandatory to report immediately to the police every case of sexual child abuse.
Sincerely, Rev. Donald Hill. Evangelist.
A country position and what a country does is two different things. We can sign treaties to say we agree and do nothing. It is a fact we have a reputation of not enforcing laws, and when we try we are to ignorant of the details of the laws to apply justly.
In layman’s terms, you can tell people you love your wife because you build a house but then beat here every night. That ain’t love. That’s abuse. That my friends is the Dominican philosophy.
Roosevelt, so typical of you, shooting the messenger instead of heeding the message. You can not take any criticism since you were a child, and I have a very good memory.
The one man government can take objection as much as they want, but as far as we are concerned, based on what we see in Dominica everyday, the report and scorecard Skerrit got is, is what Dominica deserved under his leadership.
So he can huff, and puff, and huff again, nothing will change. In fact if anything would change just to please him, the facts on the ground will continue to serve as evidence against him.
Precisely what is wrong with this country! The powers that be want glowing reports for their inadequacies and mediocrity!And they have become so use to getting it from the local populace – they now think they deserve it internationally!
Take the report in stride. Our system for juvenile justice sucks!!!!! Beside even if it didn’t suck, we still would have room for improvements!!!
Are you surprised? They only wish to take ownership of good rankings, which are few and far between.
The Children Rights International Network is an honest and reputable international organization which is recognized by most or all the countries in the world. They have presented a report and instead of the Skeritt led Administration trying to fix the problem, it has decided to criticize the report , because it was not favorable to them. When the Privy Council declared its judgement against Mr. Linton and he felt it was not a fair judgement, the operatives of the DLP felt he was a mad man to believe that a reputable court like the Privy Council did not know how to dispense justice. Aren’t the two organizations reputable, honest and experience. Therefore, why should the Government believe their report is false and Mr. Linton is a fool, an idiot, a mad man, because he disagrees with the ruling of the Privy Council.
Why do you write such nonsense. Does this response sounds like the Government is criticizing The Children Rights International Network. There is a difference between criticizing and raising an objection.The Government did the latter with a credible argument and facts to support it’s objection to the report, as to your comparison to Linton case and The Privy Council, he Linton had no evidence to support what he said. You are so blinded by your partisan political beliefs it overrides you ability to reason and make a valid argument.
Typical DLP supporter, when they cannot stand the heat, they get personal, be your own man. Please don’t follow Skerirtt’s ways of addressing a criticism.
Yes i sounds so Gary.Go take your tablets…
of course they will, they will object, they will go as far as objecting to a house on fire saying I object to that house being on fire…
Typical, instead of dealing with the problems the govt. takes issue with our ranking. Maybe we should be higher or lower but the fact remains that we have a lot of work to do to make things better for our children and we must focus on that.
Government of Dominica, the fact remains the CRC has not been implemented in domestic law. Second, how often are the provisions of the existing laws quoted by you are used? Hardly. Many persons are not aware of them.