KOMNAS HAM ISSUES RECOMMENDATIONS ON STREET CHILDREN PROTECTION

Jakarta, March 5 (ANTARA) - The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has issued recommendations on protection of street children.

The recommendations to be presented to the government and the private sector, covered policy and action plans, Johny Simanjuntak of Komnas HAM, said here on Thursday.

Cooperation among the government, community groups and the private sector was crucial in addressing the street children problem, he said.

Among the strategies recommended were systematic and comprehensive education, identification of children's potentials for change, and recognizing the children's rights, he said.

The recommendations were urgent because of rampant violence against street children lately, including murders, he said.

"The case should not become a short event with no follow up," he said.

Meanwhile, Secretary General of the National Commission of Children Protection Arist Merdeka Sirait said street children needed to a loving approach.

The security approach applied by tcity governments' public order officers (Satpol PP) would not be effective as it just reflected panic, not a commitment to solving the street children problem, he said.

"A loving approach recognizes street children as human beings. If we want to see dignified street children, the state should also use a dignified way," he said.

The loving approach includes exploration of the children's potentials, registering and facilitating them, he said.

"For instance, children who work as street singers, should be facilitated so that they could sing in a hotel," he said.

He also recommended the revocation of regional governments' regulations authorizing the arrest of street children in the name of public order and considering street children as security disturbers.

Chairman of the Grass Root Children Gallery Foundation Susilo Adinegoro, who has been involved in helping street children for the last 20 years, agreed that the children needed to be approached lovingly and personally.