Significant steps towards better protection of children, including their identity

On Friday 25 June, Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSVY), led the launch of the first child protection information dashboard for Cambodia, the Prakas on foster care and kinship care and the report on the Action Plan to reintegrate children from orphanages back to their families and communities. This work over many years has been truly collaborative involving multiple Ministries, UNICEF, USAID and many civil society actors. Having this framework for foster care and kinship care, is an important protection for the children’s right to identity given the priority on family reunification. The report on the Action Plan shows that “since the action plan was launched in 2016, there are 43 per cent fewer residential care institutions (RCIs) and 59 per cent fewer children living in residential care.” Many of these children are living with their families, which concretely shows Cambodia’s efforts to restore the child’s identity in family relations for children in alternative care.

Source: https://www.unicef.org/cambodia/press-releases/new-online-resource-improving-child-protection-launched-report-finds-59-fewer and http://mosvy.gov.kh/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/30-Actional-Plan-Improving-Child-Care-Progress-Report-Eng-1-1.pdf