Policy and Legal Frameworks
Children’s rights are found in many national legal frameworks. However, specific legislation to protect vulnerable children and child victims is lacking. We closely collaborate with the national government to support and advocate for provisions that put the protection and promotion of children’s rights at its heart.
Program ObjectiveS
Strategically, this program aims to strengthen policy and legal frameworks that address all forms of child sexual abuse and exploitation, including laws that facilitate victim-focused investigation and prosecution of child sexual offences that violate the rights of the child to protection. Below are some of the key specific objectives:
- Increased adoption and effective implementation of comprehensive policies and laws for the protection of at risk children and children affected by the sexual abuse and exploitation
- Clear and effective legal frameworks that provide specific protection for children involved in justice process
- Improved leadership, coordination and
collaboration among high levels of government for effective implementation and
promotion of the existing policies and laws
Approaches
All legal protection measures for children must be accessible and inclusive to children. We support government to address policy and legislative gaps and ensure that child protection frameworks are age-appropriate and work for all children regardless of gender, race, religion, disability or other characteristics.
Acting as a member of the Technical Working Group on Online Child Sexual Exploitation led by Cambodia National Council for Children, we provide expert inputs for policy/law drafting and advocate for the development of national policy and legal frameworks that align with international standards and best practices.
We promote the respect of children’s rights contained in the UNCRC, ensuring that implementation of all policy actions take into account of the four guiding principles on children’s rights as described below:
- the right to non-discrimination
- the best interests of the child
- the right to life, survival, and development
- the right to be heard
Children and young people have strong opinions, and they have a right to be heard in matters that affect them. We seek to engage with children to collect their voices and perspectives which are used to inform policy and legislative development that addresses children’s needs. We arrange for effective consultation with child participation throughout the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all our programs.
As a member of the National Child Protection Committee, we engage with high levels of government, international child rights bodies and civil society organizations to identify gaps and support the development of policy and legislative frameworks that protect children from all forms of sexual abuse and exploitation.
Measures of Success
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High level policy and legal discussions convened and/or facilitated by government bodies
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Complementary policies, regulations and laws for addressing the sexual abuse and exploitation of children adopted
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Strategies or national action plans developed to implement the adopted policies and laws
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Research initiatives undertaken by government to support national ratification of relevant regional treaties, protocols or legal instruments for child protection
Membership & Partnership
APLE is a member of two global networks dedicated to combating the sexual abuse and exploitation of children and operates under formal MoUs with the Ministry of Interior & the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation. APLE is also a trusted partner of Facebook and a member of Family Care First Network.
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