Children's rights stressed in new law
1 June 2007
A revised 1991 Protection of Minors Law came into effect today to provide a better legal framework to safeguard minors' rights, the South China Morning Post reported. The law re-emphasizes the minors' right to education and pays unprecedented attention to the mental and physical health of children. Parents and guardians are legally obligated to ensure that children receive their nine years of free education, and migrant parents living apart from their children must appoint able guardians to take care of them, a clause which may exclude aged grandparents, said Tong Lihua, a co-drafter of the legislation. For homeless children, the new law requires civil affairs departments of county governments and above to set up shelters and public security authorities to help transport them there. This is the first time a national law has endorsed the convention's four basic children's rights - to survival, development, protection and participation - and the principle that children's rights should come before other interests.
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