Commissioner for Children Sonia Camilleri last week presented her second annual report, specifically pointing out that “Children can’t wait” is the new policy that is to be adopted by the government to place child issues in the forefront.

She was however quick to add that not enough is being done by the authorities to safeguard children’s rights, and that better legislation is needed to protect children. She called for improved services to protect children from harm, saying that the help provided is not enough and is not arriving on time.

But her strongest statement was made on what should be known as the Children’s Act, a promise that was made by the government in 2000 and now, six years down the line, is still in the making. In 2000, Malta had promised that it would draft a Children’s Act, she said, but this has yet to materialise.

Compiling all the necessary data and putting all laws concerning children under one act is not an easy task. It does take time to draft such a law because of the complicated process that is involved.

Yet, six years is a long time too and it is believed that, by now, the government should have moved closer to completing the task. However, no hints are coming from the Family and Social Solidarity Ministry to this effect. At this stage, it seems that the completion of the draft law is still far away.

The Malta Independent joins Mrs Camilleri in urging the government to put children high on its list of priorities. Of course, the government is at present concentrating on others matters, such as the pensions reform, but it is believed that children should also be given their due importance. After all, they are the future.

Although services provided to children, whatever their difficulty, have improved – as can also be seen by the recent announcement that a hotline to report internet abuse has been set up – there is still so much to do.

Drawing up a Children’s Act and passing it through Parliament would be a breakthrough for Malta as it would be showing a strong commitment to protect children and safeguard their rights.

At present, legislation regarding children can be found in various parts of Maltese laws, but by grouping them in one complete law would be a giant step forward in this respect.

Children should not be a political controversy and this was shown by the fact that during last week’s press conference, Mrs Camilleri was flanked by Clyde Puli, Nationalist MP, and Marie Louise Coleiro, Labour MP.

Both spoke about the importance of giving children a better future. Both political parties see the need that children should be offered the best opportunities to grow up in a healthy atmosphere and free from threats against their innocence. Both political parties want to work in favour of safeguarding children’s rights and protecting them against all kind of abuse. Both want a Children’s Act that would help create a better world for the younger ones.

Against this background, a Children’s Act should not be a subject which would create problems in Parliament. Of course, there could be disagreement on the finer aspects of the law but, in the end, such a bill would be expected to be passed through Parliament without any big hitches, perhaps unanimously.

The problem is that such legislation is still being drafted, and that it is taking long to complete.

In the meantime, children continue to face difficulties which, in the words of Mrs Camilleri, “are not being addressed in the right way”.

A stronger effort should be made to conclude the draft law and present it before Parliament as soon as possible because otherwise “we would have lost another generation”.