| |
Contact:
Claudia Monlouis
Monday, October 11, 2004 - One of the oldest forms of discrimination
against children in Saint Lucia is the ‘illegitimate children’ categorisation.
This is one of the existing circumstances that will be addressed under the
Revised Family Law Reform Project. The process forms a major part of the Saint
Lucia Civil Code Reform Project, which became operational in July, 2002.
Legislative Draughter in the Attorney General’s Chambers, Allison Isaac said
that the Attorney General’s Office would hold a major public consultation on
Tuesday, October 12, 2004, to review the provisions of the draft report of the
Family Law Committee, and source feedback from the community before the document
is submitted to cabinet.
“We need them to tell us where we’re going or if they’re in agreement with the
way we’re proposing to change the law. The places we intend to make some
significant changes include the areas that deal with the rights of the child; we
want to propose that we remove all forms of discrimination against children”,
Ms. Issac explained, adding, “we would also like all children to have equal
rights to maintenance”.
The revised legislation also proposes to address the rights and duties of
spouses to each other, including spouses in relationships other than marriage.
A number of public and private sector organisations had been invited to attend
the conference at Bay Gardens Hotel.
|
