The effect of legislation on child protection laws in a third world country such as Azerbaijan compared to a first world country.
Recognition of the Rights of the Child by the United Nations gave an opportunity for governments put in place policies, legislation as well as structures for the realization of these rights. Notably, child protection system as well as national legislation is yet to be established. Nevertheless, in each territory and country there are child protection laws which deals with responsibilities for individuals as well as organizations that have contact or work with children. Legislation on child protection laws covers a wide scope which includes but not limited to; the rights responsibilities of a child, (UNICEF, 2009). The protection laws implies a new definition of the responsibilities of parents in addition to a new meaning of practices of nurturing children, more especially in the third world or rather, developing countries. Arguably, as far as legislation on child protection laws are concerned, there are various differences between third world countries and the first world countries. Thus, the major objective of this paper is to draw a comparison on legislation on child protection laws in a third world country; for instance, in Azerbaijan to first world countries such as the United States, and most developed countries.
The government also has a role to play in implementation of laws. In most developed nations, rule of law is the guiding principle implementing laws and regulation. According to this principle, all individuals are equal before the law no matter his/her status in the society. Thus, any individual found going contrary to the set laws will be punished accordingly, (Ali & Shukla, 2006). On the other hand, this is not the case in most third world countries. In the third world countries such as Azerbaijan, some individuals more especially those with political powers seem to be above the law. For instance, the government in this country usually has the powers to manipulate laws according to its desired objectives. Hence, even handling issues to do with legislation on child protection is a big challenge in Azerbaijan precisely, and in most third world countries.
It has been noted that, most developed countries have been successful in the implementation of child protection laws through establishing all-inclusive structures as well as systems that supports conformity with the laws, in addition to providing resources to sustain the work of implementing agencies. On the other hand, it is very worrying to note that in most developing or third world countries as they are called, no adequate structure that have been put in place to support effective application of child protection laws. For instance, in India, there are laws that prohibit child labor, (Geraldine, 1998). However, studies indicate that India is one of the countries where child labor is very rampant. It has also been noted that in Azerbaijan, most child abuse victims do not get justice in courts due to lack of proper structures to deal with such issues. This clearly shows that, for the child protection laws to be observed or rather respected, the right structures should be put in place like in the case of most first world countries, Ali & Shukla, 2006).
According to various studies that have been carried in most third world countries, awareness of the child protection laws is significantly lower. The same thing applies to Azerbaijan, being one of the third world countries. Perhaps, one of the factors that have contributed to lack of awareness is low levels among the general public. Arguably, lack of awareness implies that the authorities that are given the mandate to implement child protection laws will get minimal support from the general public as well as from other governing bodies in the society, (UNICEF, 2009). For instance, victims of violation of child protection laws get little support from other members of the society. This makes it difficult for such victims to get justice in courts. However, this is not the case in most of the first world countries. In the first world countries, the literacy level is relatively higher as compared to third world countries. This explains the reason why these countries have made considerable steps in the implementation of child protection laws.
Lastly, another difference of legislation of child protection laws in third world countries is the training of personnel. Although most of the third world countries have made a considerable effort in training people on child protection laws, a lot is still to be done when comparing them with first world countries, (Pardeck, 2006). This training will involve protection issues as well as the procedures that are supposed to be followed. Thus, due to lack of training, most individuals are not well-informed on how they can handle such issues when they arise. One of the factors that have been noted to be hindering training of personnel in the third world countries is lack of sufficient resources.
Finally, as mentioned previously, most countries in various parts of the globe have made an effort in legislating on child protection laws. These laws are intended to protect the child from any kind of abuse. However, studies indicate that there is are considerable differences on the effect of child protection laws in third world countries such as Azerbaijan and the first world countries. One of the factors that are hindering legislation on child protection laws in Azerbaijan is rampant corruption more especially in the courts; which is a barrier to the victims. Another factor is failure of the government to religiously follow the principle of the rule of law. It has been noted that, the government can play with laws as it wishes. Lastly, there is lack of awareness among the public in general, which has contributed to lack of support to the child protection laws implementing agencies.
Bibliography
Ali, S. & Shukla, C.K. 2006. Child Labour and the Law. Boston: Sarup & Sons.
Geraldine, V.B. 1998. The International Law on the Rights of the Child. Illinois: Martinus
Nijihoff Publisher.
UNICEF. 2009. State of the World’s Children: Celebrating 20 years of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child. UNICEF
Pardeck, J. 2006. Children’s Rights: Policy and Practice. London: Routledge
