A law to protect children against all forms of negligence, exploitation and physical and psychological abuse shall come into force 3 months from its publication in the official gazette on 12 April 2016. The law stipulates children’s basic rights to live and be safe, and that all competent authorities and concerned bodies have to work together to ensure the protection of children’s rights
The law lays out the legal rights of minors, establishes punishments for those who violate those rights and allows childcare specialists to remove children from their homes against parents’ wishes and without judicial permission in cases of imminent danger.
In less severe cases, specialists may intervene by visiting regularly, providing social services and mediating a solution between the family and the child. Those who put children in danger, abandon them, neglect them, leave them without supervision, do not enroll them in school or register them upon their birth, will be subject to a prison sentence or a fine.
The law applies to all children up to the age of 18.
