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Children's Law of 2011

Country/Territory
Liberia
Document type
Legislation
Date
2011
Source
FAO, FAOLEX
Subject
Agricultural & rural development, Food & nutrition, Water
Keyword
Right to water Social protection Human rights Basic legislation Right to food
Geographical area
Africa, Least Developed Countries, North Atlantic, Western Africa
Abstract

This law is established to facilitate the respect, protection, promotion and provision of the realization of child rights in order to make maximum contribution to the survival, development, participation and protection of every child within the country. The law adopts the overarching principle that in all actions which may affect children, utmost recourse should be paid to achieving the best interests of the child. The law further provides certain indices to consider in achieving the best interests of a child, including; the need to balance the short and long term best interests of the child; the ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child concerned; the child’s physical, emotional, and educational needs; the likely effects of any changes in the child’s circumstances; the child’s age, sex, background, and any other attributes; any harm that the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering; among others. The law provides for other principles which shall guide its interpretation and implementation. These principles are regarded as complementary to interpretation and include; no decision or action shall be taken whose result or likelihood is to discriminate against any child on the basis of sex, family, color, race, ethnicity, place of origin, language, religion, economic status, parents, or any other status; subject to her or his evolving capacities, the child is entitled to participate in decisions that may affect her or his welfare; in all decisions and actions, the advancement of the child’s survival and development shall be a matter of duty; as much as possible, work to advance the rights of the child shall be multi-sectoral, holistic, and life cycle-based, among others. Essentially, this law establishes a bill of rights for children, which delineates what it considers as fundamental rights for children. These include the rights to life, to adequate food and water, to adequate shelter, to education, to health, to privacy, among others. Consequently, the law creates specific duties owed to children by parents, the community and the government. The law provides extensively for the juvenile justice system. The law provides for the establishment, registration and the mode of administration of child care institutions, including juvenile centres, foster care institutions etc.

Full text
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