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Abstract
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Child protection (CP) has become an issue of global attention, mobilising multilateral agencies and national governments to improve the safety and wellbeing of children. This is symbolised by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which gives centrality to the principle of protection. Shortly after its penning, all the states of the Middle East and North African (MENA) region ratified the UNCRC. Consequently, MENA governments have either amended existing legislation or enacted new laws to better protect children. Furthermore, in 2005, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation developed the Covenant of the Rights of the Child in Islam and the Arab Charter of Human Rights has incorporated CP provisions.
In recent years, the international community have shifted focus from tackling single protection concerns (e.g. child labour, early marriage and trafficking) to concentrate on CP ‘system’ building and strengthening (Wulczyn et al., 2010). As a result, attention has been given to dedicated and comprehensive national frameworks that can prevent and respond to the maltreatment of children. However, internationally there is still enormous diversity in the meanings surrounding child maltreatment and the combination of policies, legislation and services gathered to confront it (Cameron & Freymond, 2006; Connolly & Katz, 2019).
The mapping and comparison of historic and emerging CP systems in the MENA region is chronically under researched and there are currently no region-specific theoretical models or typologies. The limited available research shows that CP as a legislative-based practice invested in the powers of the state is a relatively new and contentious phenomenon, requiring careful translation into culturally sustainable and effective practice (Al-Mahroos, 2007; Graham & Al-Krenawi, 2013; Hutchinson et al., 2015). Research also shows that across the MENA region ‘religion and faith, and their associated cultural dimensions, are important social factors influencing governance, social practices and beliefs around childbearing, rearing, wellbeing and protection; shaping the way that child protection concerns are defined, identified and addressed’ (Hutchinson et al., 2015, p. 396). And while the region is of course diverse in cultures, demographics and income levels – in general the challenges of the global pandemic, conflict and displacement, corruption and rising economic inequality are accelerating protection needs (World Bank, 2020a).
This paper will begin by summarising the leading theoretical frameworks that currently exist for analysing the configuration of different international CP systems. The paper then draws upon a mapping exercise of Lebanon's CP system by El-Hoss (2020) which replicates the methods adopted by Connolly and Katz (2019)
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Over the past three decades a small number of influential writers have bravely attempted to develop theoretical models for understanding and comparing the complex development of child protection systems across different countries.
The foremost frameworks have compared the dynamics of child protection arrangements in high-income countries, with little attention being given to middle- and low-income countries and, more specifically, the MENA region.
This paper presents Lebanon's child protection model and highlights factors that have led to its unique development in the last 20 years. It contends that Lebanon's child protection system is pluralistic in nature, with responsibilities for the ultimate safety and wellbeing of children diffused among a variety of stakeholders. As a relatively new domain of practice for the state, the protection of children in Lebanon has become implicated in the ever-present national debates regarding the correct balance of authority between state, religion and citizen. A parallel system of decision-making exists with a state-run system struggling to find its place alongside customary religious courts unlikely to relinquish their power over family affairs. Through an examination of Lebanon, the paper aims to further "road test" the most recent typology and address its applicability to one Middle East country.
Language: en |