Legal and Policy Reform

The NCFC is charged with the responsibility of advocating for policies and legislation that promote the best interest of children and families. In 1995, the National Committee for Families and Children (NCFC) initiated the complex task of legal reform that still continues today. The main objective of the reform is to bring the Laws of Belize in tandem with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

 

 

 

The Families and Children Act FACA was passed in 1998. It was one of the first pieces of legislation in the English-speaking Caribbean that explicitly attempts to operationalize the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This ACT is currently being used as a model for legal reform in the Eastern Caribbean. Although this ACT has been passed there is need to amend it to address gaps that may have been noticed during its use. The NCFC has been facilitating a multi-agency effort to strengthen the Child Abuse and Protection system. Since then there have been subsequent statutory instruments passed that have strengthened the provision in the law as it relates to Child Abuse Protection.

 

Future Goals

Recent studies have highlighted amendments that need to be made to other Laws to ensure that the Laws of Belize are in full compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The most urgent of these are those related to the Child Protection System. The provisions under Criminal Code that deal with sexual abuse of children are deemed to be the most pressing. Sexual Abuse/exploitation of children was drafted and submitted for approval by the Legislators.

At this point in time the NCFC has successfully advocated for complete review and reform of the laws so that there is complete compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

 

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