Denying children rights eyed as a criminal offense

The Ministry of Justice is considering a proposal that calls for the government to take criminal action against parents who deprive their children of education and registration of national identification as a result of marital disputes. According to the proposal, such parents would be referred to the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution and then to court for litigation.
The proposal is in light of the increase in personal status cases in some courts that demonstrate denial of children’s right to education. Many parents in such cases have been found to be preventing their children from attending school due to marital disputes and custody claims.
Some parents have even neglected to obtain national identification for the children, thus leaving them without any form of identification for acceptance in school and access to public services including hospitals.
The Department of Justice is in the process of reviewing the proposal and preparing its recommendations. The proposal directly calls on judicial authorities to put in place punitive measures that would criminalize such acts and investigate parents found responsible for such behavior.