Damascus-SANA
Today, in its fifth session of the third special session of the third legislative session, chaired by Speaker Hammouda Sabbagh, the People's Assembly approved the draft law on children's rights and it became a law.
The Council approved, by majority, articles from 52 to 69 with the deletion of articles 65 and 67, because they did not add any new provision in relation to crimes committed against children, such as underage employment, and their texts are included in effective legislation such as the General Penal Code. .
A child under the age of ten is not criminally prosecuted in accordance with Article 52, while restorative justice for a child is based on a number of principles according to Article 53, most notably respecting the rights of the child in all procedures related to restorative justice and dealing with a child who is in conflict with the law. To ensure its reform, rehabilitation and reintegration into society.
A committee called the National Committee for the Rights of the Child shall be formed based on Article 54, headed by the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, and his deputy is the head of the Syrian Commission for Family and Population Affairs, with the membership of the director of family issues in the commission and a number of representatives of ministries.
Articles 55 to 66 include penalties for anyone who commits a crime against children from the crimes stipulated in the draft law, as Article 58 states that “Whoever sells a hookah, tobacco, or alcoholic drink to a child, or offers it to him, or allows it to be served to him.” Punishable by imprisonment from one to three months and a fine of 300,000 to 500,000 Syrian pounds, and the fine is multiplied by the number of children.
While Article / 60/ clarifies that “if the child’s guardian or legally responsible for him refrains from sending him to school after being warned ten days in accordance with the procedures established in the Compulsory Education Law, he shall be punished with a fine from 100,000 Syrian pounds to 150 thousand Syrian pounds.” Article / 64/ refers to That “fines resulting from the application of the provisions of this law are in the interest of social care institutions for children.”
The penalties stipulated in the Penal Code and the Penal Laws, according to Article 66, shall be applied to “anyone who possesses, acquires, buys, sells, delivers, receives or transports narcotic substances if the crime is committed in educational institutions, service facilities, cultural, sports, correctional institutions, or And similar places and homes for children, as well as the right of anyone who gives narcotic substances to a child or facilitates their abuse, or pushes him to use, transport, sell or promote them by any means.
The procedures related to the application of the provisions of the articles of this law are determined in accordance with Article /68/ by a decision of the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor in coordination with the relevant authorities.
Before the draft was approved, a number of council members submitted requests to re-deliberate several articles of the draft. These requests were then submitted to the council, but they did not obtain the result of voting on them with the required majority to accept re-deliberation with any of them.
The session, which was attended by the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Dr. Salwa Abdullah, and the State for People's Assembly Affairs, Eng. Maloul Al-Hussein, was raised to 9 am next Saturday.
Waseem Al-Adawi