Parliamentary inquiry launched into child sexual abuse cases

The parliament has begun an inquiry into child sexual abuse cases, to ensure that the victims have received justice.

Speaker, former President Mohamed Nasheed, announce the start of the parliamentary inquiry at Wednesday’s sitting.

Extending greetings on World Children’s Day on Wednesday, the speaker said that the inquiry will be conducted by the human rights and gender committee.

Noting that this is the first such inquiry by the parliament, the speaker said the purpose of it is to determine the child sexual abuse statistics.

The probe will also help determine the causes of such cases, which in turn will allow the parliament to establish rules, regulations and procedures to protect children.

He added that the people’s majlis will continue to work to protect child’s rights.

While two bills related to children’s rights were approved earlier this month, the speaker stressed that these bills have been pending in parliament for 10 years. He added that various international organizations had pushed for the bills to be passed “numerous times.”

The parliament approved the Child Rights Protection Bill and the Juvenile Justice Bill on November 14.

The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) said that the approval of the bills “signals progress.”