It was the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) which first laid the groundwork for the upcoming Child Protection Legislation, said Minister of People Empowerment Kirk Humphrey.
This is why, he said, he was surprised they were now opposed to it. Speaking after a recent Barbados Labour Party St Michael South annual general meeting at Graydon Sealy Secondary School, Paddock Road, St Michael, Humphrey said it was unfortunate the bill was now mired in political controversy.
“The current legislation that guides children in Barbados is extremely old. Would you want to subject yourself to legislation from 1904? The time was now to be able to [update it]. The DLP is saying we have signed our souls away because we signed on to the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child . . . which was actually signed in 1990 by the same DLP . . . so cursing me for what you do makes no sense at all and is dangerous,” he said.
The bill has been heavily debated on call-in programmes where aspects of it have been severely criticised for being too vague and not taking into account parental rights. (CA)