The Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) reiterated its unwavering "zero tolerance" stance in harshly punishing crimes that infringe upon the rights and interests of migrant children.
An official of the SPP's Minors Procuratorial Department made the statement at a press conference organized by the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) on Sept 3, where an action plan for strengthening the protection of migrant children was presented. The plan was jointly issued by the MCA together with 19 other departments, including the Committee of Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, the Supreme People's Court, the SPP, and the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China.
Enhancing care for and protection of migrant children to provide strong guarantees for their healthy growth and comprehensive development is a concrete action to implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress and the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee regarding children.
This year, procuratorial organs nationwide have launched the campaign of procuratorial protection of people's livelihoods, and prioritized the protection of the rights and interests of migrant and left-behind children as a key focus of their work to serve and safeguard people's wellbeing. They strive to handle each case with high quality, effectively safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of migrant children and their families.
Since the launch of the campaign, the protection of the rights and interests of migrant children has been continuously strengthened through initiating civil litigation and public interest litigation.
In the next step, procuratorial organs will further strengthen their efforts in caring for and protecting migrant children in three aspects:
First, they will adhere to a "zero tolerance" stance to severely punish crimes that infringe on the rights and interests of migrant children. Efforts will be made to focus on offenses such as violence, sexual abuse, on-campus bullying and cybercrimes to enhance their judicial protection.
They will continue to promote the enforcement of the mandatory reporting system for cases involving crimes against minors and conduct simultaneous inspections of the implementation of the system in handling each case involving crimes against minors to fully leverage the system's important role in preventing and combating crimes.
Second, they will strengthen inter-departmental cooperation to effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of migrant children. Efforts will be made to actively promote the implementation of liability of families for the children's protection. In cases where the parents or other guardians of minors fail to fulfill their guardianship duties in accordance with the law or infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of minors, procuratorial organs will supervise and order guardians to comply with the law and ask them to receive family education.
Communication and cooperation with the civil affairs authorities will be reinforced. In cases where migrant children are found unattended or in situations indicating a lack of care, relevant information will be promptly transferred to the civil affairs authorities for further handling and assisting in the implementation of protection measures.
Third, they will utilize multiple assistance measures to enhance support for migrant children involved in cases. For migrant children who meet the criteria for judicial assistance, procuratorial organs will promptly carry out national judicial assistance work within their authority and provide timely financial assistance in accordance with regulations. For migrant children who have been victimized, necessary psychological assistance and support will be provided in addition to support to overcome their difficulties in life.
